Henri II: His Court and Times (8 page)

We shall not dwell upon the tedious negotiations which
followed. The obstacle to a settlement was, of course, the
question of Burgundy. The duchy had reverted to the
Crown of France on the death of Charles the Bold, without
male heirs, in 1477, when the Estates had at once recognised
Louis XI as their liege lord. But the Emperor, as the son of
Charles the Bold's daughter, Mary, had always regarded it as
his lawful inheritance, of which he had been unjustly despoiled,
and, for sentimental as well as political reasons, he
was determined to recover it. The French negotiators, on
the other hand, were instructed to resist to the uttermost a
demand which, if conceded, would not only deprive France
of one of her largest and most wealthy provinces, but would
place her redoubtable enemy within striking distance of the
capital. They suggested, however, that the case should be
submitted to arbitration, with the understanding that, if
Burgundy were assigned to Charles, it should form the dowry
of his sister Eleanor, whom the King should then take to wife.
To this proposal Charles refused to consent, and when, towards the end of November, the Duchesse d'Alençon
returned to France, matters were in much the same state as they had been on her
arrival, and it seemed as though François's captivity would be indefinitely prolonged.

Before his sister's departure, the King had bethought him
of an expedient which would prove as fatal to the hopes of
Charles V as the death of his prisoner, and drew up and
signed a deed of abdication, in which he declared that "we
have willed and consented, by perpetual and irrevocable
edict, that our very dear and beloved son François should be
henceforth declared Very Christian King of France, and as
King should be crowned, anointed, and consecrated." Louise
of Savoy, or, in the event of her death, the Duchesse d'Alençon, was appointed Regent, and he reserved to himself
the right of resuming the Crown, if he ever recovered his
liberty.
¹¹

This heroic resolution was duly communicated to the
Emperor by Montmorency, accompanied by a request that he
would permit his Majesty's entourage to be placed on such a
footing as would be suitable for an ex-sovereign who had
resigned himself to the idea of spending the remainder of his
days in captivity. Charles, however, did not appear to be
greatly perturbed by the announcement. He knew that
François was a bad subject for prison life, however much
latitude might be allowed him, and believed that he was far
too selfish to sacrifice himself for his kingdom.

Events justified this belief, for on December 19, 1525, at
the moment when Montmorency was on the point of setting
out for France with the deed of abdication, the King directed
the French envoys to surrender Burgundy in full sovereignty,
stipulating, however, that their master should first be set at
liberty, since the cession of so large an extent of territory presented difficulties which could only be overcome by the
presence of François in his own realm. To this stipulation
Charles consented, and on January 14, 1526, the Treaty of
Madrid was concluded.

By the terms of this famous treaty, François engaged to
"restore" to the Emperor the possessions of Charles the
Bold, the latter, however, abandoning the counties of Maçon
and Auxerre and the
seigneurie
of Bar-sur-Seine, which he
gave by way of dowry to his sister Eleanor, whom François
undertook to marry. The King of France resigned all claims
on the Milanese, Genoa, Asti, and Naples; abandoned Italy
entirely to the Emperor; promised that a French fleet should
escort Charles when he went to Italy for the purpose of his
coronation, and that he would co-operate with him in person
in a crusade against the Infidel and in the suppression of
Lutherans and other heretics; renounced all his rights of
suzerainty over Flanders and Artois; withdrew his protection
from Henri d'Albret, King of Navarre, and his allies on the
Flemish frontier, Robert de la Marck and the Duke of
Guelders, and restored Bourbon and his accomplices to their
estates and dignities. Nothing was said about Bourbon's
promised kingdom in South-Eastern France, but it was understood that, as compensation for this and the hand of Eleanor,
he was to receive the Milanese, of which Francesco Sforza,
who had placed himself at the head of an abortive movement
for the independence of Italy, and was being blockaded by
the Spaniards in the citadel of Milan, was to be deprived.
Lastly, either the two elder sons of the King, the Dauphin
François and Henri, Duc d'Orleans, or the Dauphin and
twelve of the principal personages of the kingdom
¹²
were to be delivered up as hostages until all the stipulations of the
treaty had been fulfilled.

It is not at first sight easy to understand how the shrewd
and cautious Charles could have consented to the release of
his prisoner until this treaty, so humiliating for France, had
been executed, or at least until he had been placed in
possession of Burgundy; and the Chancellor Gattinara protested in the
strongest terms consistent with respect against a step which he declared would
inevitably compromise, and perhaps lose altogether, the fruits of Pavia. But,
though the Emperor entertained far from an exalted opinion of François's character, he probably found it difficult to believe that he
intended to play him false. The long and stubborn resistance
which the King had opposed to his demands seemed to be a
guarantee of his good faith, for, if his intentions were otherwise, why had he not yielded before and escaped those weary
months in the Alcazar? Besides, the alternative was a
renewal of the war, since the truce was on the point of
expiring; and war at the present juncture would risk all that
was assured by the treaty. For Charles could no longer rely
on the support of those who had hitherto sustained him, or
on the neutrality of those who had permitted him to conquer.
Henry VIII, without as yet declaring himself his enemy, had
become the ally of France; Venice, Florence, the Pope, and
the Duke of Milan were intriguing against him; his brother
Ferdinand, crippled by a rebellion in the Tyrol, was quite
unable to render him assistance. He was, in fact, completely
isolated, and, so far from being in a position to invade France,
would be obliged to act entirely on the defensive.

For these reasons he decided to disregard the advice of
Gattinara, and to accept the advantages which were conceded
to him under the conditions on which they were offered. If,
however, he consented to the liberation of François, he did
not fail to take every possible precaution to render the treaty
inviolable. Not only did he insist upon the most precious
hostages, but he demanded that the King should swear upon
the Gospel to fulfil his engagements, and give his word of
honour as a knight that he would return to prison, if within
four months all the conditions of the treaty were not realised.

François complied readily enough, but he had not the
remotest intention of keeping his word. What moral fibre he
possessed had been hopelessly sapped by his imprisonment;
and on January 13, 1526 — the day before the treaty was signed
— he had summoned to the Alcazar the Président de Selve, the
Archbishop of Embrun, Chabot de Brion, Jean de la Barre,
Provost of Paris, and his secretary Bayard, and, after exacting
from each of them an oath of secrecy, entered a solemn
protest against the treaty to which he was being compelled to
submit "by force and constraint," and declared the obligations
which he was on the point of contracting "null and of no
effect," as attempts upon the rights of his crown, hurtful to
France, and injurious to his honour.
¹³

Six days after the conclusion of the Treaty of Madrid,
François was betrothed to the Queen-Dowager of Portugal.
As the King was suffering from an attack of fever, and, indeed,
was too ill to leave his bed, the ceremony had perforce to take
place in his apartment at the Alcazar, Lannoy representing
his future consort. A betrothal in such circumstances could
scarcely be considered to augur well for the happiness of the
royal pair; but Charles V was impatient to secure yet another
guarantee for the fulfilment of his Most Christian Majesty's
engagements.

Since etiquette required François to address a complimentary
letter to his fiancée, he wrote to the Emperor to inquire
by what title it was his wish that he should address her; and
Charles in reply authorised him to address her by the name of
wife, "which before God she already is."

As some weeks must elapse before the hostages could arrive
in Spain, François was obliged to remain at Madrid. It might
be supposed that during this interval he would have been
permitted to exchange his gloomy prison for some more
cheerful residence, or, at least, that the constraint to which
he had been so long subjected would have been relaxed.
But, in spite of the representations of the gentlemen of his
suite and the Archbishop of Embrun, he remained in the
Alcazar and was kept under perpetual surveillance. Arquebusiers mounted guard at the door of his chamber, both night
and day, and even while he slept his attendants were obliged
to admit the officers of the fortress, who came at intervals to
satisfy themselves that he was still there.
¹⁴
The only concession was permission to leave his prison, though always
accompanied by his guards, in order to go and hear Mass at
celebrated churches or to visit convents. On these occasions,
the populace, whose admiration the had gained by his handsome presence and his reputation for courage, pressed eagerly
to see him, and those afflicted with scrofula came to entreat
him to lay his royal hands upon them.

On February 13, after having signed the peace at Toledo, Charles V returned
to Madrid. François, mounted on a richly caparisoned mule and dressed
à l'espagnole
,
as a compliment to the Emperor, met him in the outskirts of the city,
and the two monarchs embraced with a great show of
affection. They entered Madrid amid the acclamations of
the people, and proceeded to the Alcazar, where they supped
together; and during the two following days made their devotions
at the same churches and gave other proofs of the
sincerity of their reconciliation.

On the 16th, François having expressed a desire to see his
bride-elect before leaving Spain, their Majesties quitted Madrid
to visit Queen Eleanor at the Castle of Illescas, one of the
residences of the Archbishop of Toledo, where Eleanor had
arrived on the previous day. They established themselves at
the Castle of Torrejon, a few miles distant, and paid their first
visit on the afternoon of the 17th. Although not strictly
beautiful, the widow of Manoel the Great was decidedly prepossessing,
with a high forehead, arched eyebrows, a fresh
complexion, and very white teeth. She was of a romantic
temperament, and François's courage and misfortunes had
appealed so strongly to her sympathy and admiration that
she was already prepared to love him. As for the King,
though, as we have seen, he had not the slightest intention of
sharing his throne with the lady, he acted the part of a gallant
lover to perfection, and when Eleanor fell on her knees and
was about to kiss his hand, he raised her up and embraced
her warmly. The following day, the two monarchs paid a
second visit to Illescas, on which occasion the Queen performed
a Spanish dance before her
fiancé
, with the Countess
of Nassau, one of her ladies-in-waiting.

On the 19th, François and Charles bade one another farewell,
the former to return to Madrid and thence to France,
the latter to proceed to Seville, where he was to wed the Infanta Isabella of Portugal. At parting, the King, at the
request of the Emperor, who, in this last interview, was unable
to free his mind of some uneasiness in regard to the execution
of the treaty, renewed his assurances of fidelity to his engagements
under pain of being accounted a miserable scoundrel,
and Charles warned François that, although he had never
hated him, yet, if he deceived him, particularly in what concerned
his sister Eleanor, he should "hold his person in
detestation, and should seek every means of taking vengeance
and of injuring him as much as possible." Then, after the
King had once more sworn to fulfil his obligations, they commended
one another to God's keeping and separated.

Two days later (February 21), François joyfully quitted
the gloomy fortress where he had suffered so much in both
body and mind, and where he had ended by purchasing his
liberty at the price of his honour, and took the road to the
frontier of France. He was accompanied by the Viceroy of
Naples and a numerous guard, under the command of
Alarcon, an officer of arquebusiers, who had been responsible
for the illustrious captive's person since the day of Pavia.
At Aranda, on the Douro, fifty leagues from the frontier, which
was reached on the 26th, Lannoy, in conjunction with the
King, drafted the formalities which were to be observed at
his release, the most elaborate precautions being taken to
guard against any attempt at escape or rescue.

The exchange was to take place on the Bidassoa, between
Fontarabia and Andaye, in the centre of the stream. No vessels
of any description, with the exception of those required for
the conveyance of François and the hostages, which must be
of similar size, were to be allowed on the river or within five
leagues of its mouth; no gentleman of the King's Household,
no soldier of his guard, no man-at-arms in his realm, was to
be permitted to approach nearer than Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and
for twenty leagues on either side of the frontier the country
was to be evacuated by troops.
¹⁵
Chabot de Brion and a
Spanish officer named Peñalosa were then despatched to
France, the former to hasten the arrival of Louise of Savoy
and the hostages, the latter to carry to the Court the draft of
the regulations for the exchange; and the King and his escort
continued their journey as far as Vittoria, where they halted
to await news of the Regent.