Read Henri II: His Court and Times Online
Authors: H Noel Williams
Henri II: His Court and Times (9 page)
Louise had learned of the Treaty of Madrid on January 29,
when Montmorency arrived at Lyons, bringing the document
with him for the Regent's signature, and she had lost no time
in making the arrangements required to secure her son's
liberation. It will be remembered that the clause relating to
the hostages left France the alternative of replacing the second
of the young princes by twelve of the principal personages
of the kingdom. But the Regent, who had, of course, been
informed by Montmorency of what had occurred at the
Alcazar on the eve of the signing of the treaty, and was aware
that a refusal to execute its terms would certainly be followed
by a renewal of the war, immediately decided that to deprive
the kingdom of its best generals in such circumstances would
be an act of criminal folly, and that Henri must therefore
accompany the Dauphin to Spain.
After having announced that peace had been concluded and that the King would
shortly be restored to his loving subjects, without, however, revealing the
humiliating conditions, on February 1 she set out for Amboise, where the
young princes were, followed by a part of the Court, and
accompanied by Dr. John Taylor
16
and Louis van Praet, the English and Imperial Ambassadors.
17
On arriving at Roanne, the Court embarked in barges upon the Loire, and made the
rest of the journey by water, though, owing to continuous
rain, the river had overflowed its banks, and "the wind was
so ragious that no man might pass without danger."
18
At Amboise, the English Ambassador was presented to the
Dauphin and Henri, and did not fail to communicate his
impressions of the young princes to Wolsey:
"She [the Regent] caused me to dine with the Emperor's Ambassador, and after
dinner I was brought to see the Dauphin, and his brother Harry; both did embrace
me, and took me by the hand, and asked me of the welfare of the King's highness, and your grace, and desired that in my writing I
should truly commend them to the King and your grace.
Verily, they be too (
sic
) goodly children. The King's godson
[Henri] is the quicker spirit and the bolder, as seemeth by
his behaviour."
The Regent, "notwithstanding that she was vexed with the
gout in her hand," only remained one night, and then with
her two elder grandsons took the road to Bayonne, where
they arrived in the evening of March 15, and were received
"with a great triumph of gun-shot."
19
On learning of their approach, Lannoy had left Vittoria, and conducted François
to the fortress of San Sebastian, three leagues from the mouth
of the Bidassoa. Here he was joined by Chabot de Brion, who
had been sent by the Regent to make the final arrangements
for the exchange of the King and his two sons, which it was
decided should take place on the 17th, at seven o'clock in the
morning.
At the appointed hour, François, accompanied by Lannoy, Alarcon, and
ten Spanish gentlemen, who were armed only with sword and dagger, appeared on
the southern bank of the river; while the Dauphin and the Duc d'Orléans, accompanied by Lautrec and ten French gentlemen, armed in like
fashion, appeared on the opposite bank. Two barges, of the
same size and manned by the same number of rowers, were
in readiness. Each party entered one, and was rowed out to
the centre of the stream, where a raft had been moored.
Lannoy and Alarcon, followed by the King, mounted the raft,
as did Lautrec and the little princes. The boys kissed their
father's hand, and Lannoy said: "Sire, your Highness is now
free; let him execute what he has promised!" "All shall be
done," answered François, who then embraced his children,
and, stepping into the barge which had brought them, was
rowed to the northern bank, while the princes were conveyed
to the Spanish shore. "All passed off very peaceably, as had
been arranged."
20
The King, who, in his selfish way, was much attached to
his children, had probably experienced some twinges of
conscience at the thought of these two young boys — the
elder but eight years old — condemned to a captivity which
their father's intended repudiation of his engagements
could not fail to make a long and painful one. But
any compunction he may have felt was speedily stifled
by joy at finding himself a free man again. So soon as
his foot touched French soil, he threw himself on horseback,
crying, "Now I am King! I am King once more!"
and rode away at a gallop to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, whither the
nobles of the Court, the Chancellor Du Prat, and the English
Ambassador had come to welcome him.
21
After receiving their congratulations, he hastened to Bayonne, where the
Regent and the rest of the Court had remained, and "was
received with much shot of ordnance, without the town,
a quarter of a mile."
22
"Immediately on setting foot to ground, he went to return thanks to God in the principal
church of that town,"
23
and then hurried away to greet his
mother and sister, who were impatiently awaiting him.
Meanwhile, the young hostages were being conducted by
Lannoy and Alarcon to Vittoria, to join Queen Eleanor, who
had arrived there a few days before, it having been decided
that, when the principal conditions of the Treaty of Madrid
had been fulfilled, she should bring them with her to
France.
(1)
Published by Champollion,
Captivite du roi François I
er
.
(2)
And, since the
Parlement
had attributed the disaster of Pavia to celestial
anger on account of the King's toleration of heretics, she caused two unfortunate
Huguenots to be burnt at the stake, as a further proof of condescension.
(3)
Some misconception appears to exist in regard to François's transference
from Italy to Spain. Several historians, including Dr. Kitchin ("History of
France," vol. ii), state that Charles V gave orders for the King's removal, but
Mignet (
Rivalité de François I
er
et de Charles-Quint
) has shown that Lannoy acted
entirely on his own responsibility, and that Charles was greatly astonished on
learning of his prisoner's arrival at Barcelona.
(4)
Montmorency was no longer a prisoner, having been exchanged some weeks
before for Don Ugo de Moncada, Prior of Messina, who had been captured by
the French in the sea-fight off the coast of Provence in the previous year.
(5)
Negociation du seigneur de Montmorency
, in Champollion,
Captivite de
François I
er
; Mignet,
Rivalité de François I
er
et de Charles-Quint
.
(6)
And the duke's daughter, who was of a highly romantic disposition, fell so
desperately in love with him, that, from sheer despair, she took the veil, and
founded a monastery at Guadalajara.
(7)
Della vita e della of
ere di Andrea Navagero
; Mignet,
Rivalité de François
I
er
et de Charles-Quint
.
(8)
The English Ambassadors were much perturbed by Marguerite's mission.
It was, of course, the policy of England to hold the balance between Charles
and François, and to prevent any permanent
rapprochement
between them, and
the Ambassadors feared that this might be brought about by the young widow
wooing the Emperor for herself, and his sister, Eleanor, Queen-Dowager of
Portugal, for her brother. They had therefore solemnly warned Charles not to
receive her, on the ground that she would only confirm the King in his obstinacy.
"Besides," said they, "being young and a widow, she comes, as Ovid says of
women going to a play, to see and to be seen, that perhaps the Emperor may
like her; and also to woo the Queen-Dowager of Portugal for her brother. . . .
Then, as they are both young widows, she shall find good commodity in cackling
with her to advance her brother's matter."
(9)
Navagero, cited by Mignet.
(10)
Letter of the Président de Selve to the
Parlement
of Paris, in Champollion,
Captivité de François I
er
.
(11)
For the full text of the
document see, Champollion,
Captivité de François I
er
.
Madame Coignet (
François I
er
) and several other writers, following Du Bellay,
state that the King entrusted the deed of abdication to his sister to carry to
France; but this is incorrect.
(12)
Among the twelve were the Duc de Vendôme, the Duke of Albany the Comte
de Saint-Pol, Louis de Brézé, Grand Seneschal of Normandy — the husband of
Diane de Poitiers — Montmorency, Lautrec and Guise. In other words all the
best French generals who had survived the disaster of Pavia.
(13)
See Champollion,
Captivité de François I
er
, where the text of the protest is
given.
(14)
This continued detention was one of the reasons afterwards given by
François to excuse his refusal to execute the terms of the Treaty of Madrid.
According to him, his word of honour as a knight having been demanded and
given, the Emperor was obliged to set him at liberty forthwith, and that since
this was not done, he was freed from his promise.
(15)
Cérémonial réglé pour la délivrance du seigneur roy
, in Champollion,
Captivite
de François I
er
.
(16)
John Taylor, who was the son of humble parents, was born at the village of
Barton, in Staffordshire, probably about 1480. He studied civil and canon law
at some foreign university, took Holy Orders, and held various benefices, being
appointed prebendary of Westminster in 1518. He accompanied Henry VIII
in his campaign in France in 1513, and to the Field of the Cloth of Gold, on
which occasion he acted as his chaplain. In 1527 he was appointed Master
of the Rolls, and from 1531-1533 he was again English Ambassador in France.
He died in 1534.
(17)
Taylor was going to Bayonne, nominally to congratulate François on his
return from captivity, but really to induce him to violate the treaty he had just
concluded with Charles V. He was, however, somewhat exercised in his mind
as to how he was to get there, and wrote to Wolsey that he "waxed slender in
the purse."
(18)
Despatch of Taylor to Wolsey, published by Sharon Turner, "The Modern
History of England."
(19)
Taylor to Wolsey.
(20)
Letter of the
Président de Selve to the
Parlement
of Paris, March 18 1526
in
Captivité de François I
er
.
(21)
"After the chancellor had saluted the King, he shewed me to him that I was
the orator of England. The King took me in his arms, whom I saluted in this
manner: 'Christianissimi Rex! ex parte serenissimi regis Anglias, defensoris
fidei, Deum omnipotentem ego congratulor, tuæ majestatis in suum regnum
salvo reditui.' " — Despatch of Taylor to Wolsey, in Sharon Turner.
(22)
Ibid.
(23)
Selve.
Refusal of François I to execute the Treaty of Madrid — His conduct severely
condemned by modern historians, but generally condoned by his contemporaries — The League of Cognac formed against the Emperor — Inaction of
François, who for more than a year leaves his Italian allies to shift for
themselves — Fall and sack of Rome — François concludes the Treaty of Westminster with England — Lautrec invades the Milanese with an army subsidised
by England, and carries all before him — Escape of Clement VII from Rome —
Contemplated duel between François and Charles — Siege of Naples — The folly
of François causes the withdrawal of Andrea Doria's fleet from the blockade
— The French, weakened by disease, raise the siege, and are subsequently
obliged to capitulate — Genoa lost to France — Battle of Landriano and defection
of the Pope — Peace of Cambrai (
la Paix des Dames
), which contains a stipulation
that the young princes are to be released on payment of a ransom of two million
crowns.
C
HARLES
V was soon to discover that, on the day
on which he had allowed the French King to cross
the Bidassoa, he had let slip the chance which
comes to a man but once in his life.
On François's arrival at Bayonne, Louis van Praet, the
Imperial Ambassador, lost no time in calling upon him to ratify
the treaty, as he had engaged to do in the first town in his
dominions. The King, on some plausible pretext, deferred
the ratification. At Mont-de-Marsan, whither the Court
proceeded from Bayonne, Peñalosa, who had been sent
by Lannoy, joined Van Praet, and François was again
summoned to fulfil his promise. This time, his Majesty
replied that the treaty, the terms of which had already been
made public by the Emperor, was causing great indignation
among his subjects; that the principal personages of the
State, to whom he had applied to secure its acceptance,
all implored him not to ratify it; that he had received advices
from Burgundy that the cession of that province, "united
and incorporated inseparably with the Crown," could not
take place without the consent of the Estates, who were
determined not to give it, and that he feared that the
adhesion of the States-General of the kingdom and the
Parlement
of Paris, which was equally necessary for such
an alienation, would be also impossible to obtain.
These evasive answers were communicated to Lannoy,
who was at Vittoria with Queen Eleanor and the young
princes, and by him transmitted to his master. Charles
at once sent orders to the Viceroy of Naples to proceed in
person to France and demand in the most imperative terms
the immediate fulfilment of the King's engagements. Lannoy
set out in all haste and found the Court at Cognac, in
Saintonge — François's birthplace — the King's physicians
having decided that his native air might be beneficial to
his health, which was still causing some anxiety.