A Duchess of Burgundy II

Philip the Good

Offers of Marriage

It was to be another eight years before Isabella was to receive a second offer of marriage. By then her former suitor was long dead[i], leaving a babe in arms, Henry VI, as his successor and one of his brothers, John Duke of Bedford, as his regent overseeing the continuation of the war. Isabella’s second offer came from Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy who was in need of an heir. One of his courtiers, Jehan Gueniot[ii], commented that there was a choice of five suitable ladies;

‘It is said that there are five marriageable young women, hearty and handsome. That is to say Robert of Bar’s daughter[iii]; the two sisters of the King of Navarre[iv]; the king of Portugal’s daughter; and a noble English lady.’[v]

On 18^th December 1428 Philip’s offer was placed before King John; his delegation was led by Philip’s chamberlain and chief counsellor, Seigneur de Roubaix. John called his sons to meet him at Aviz[vi] where he held his court. The Governor of Lille, Duke Baudoin de Lannoy, joined Roubaix and the Burgundian ambassador André de Chalonja on 19^th January 1429 to present Philip’s proposal to John and his sons.

Baudoin de Lannoy

While the thirty-one year old Isabella was waiting for her fate to be decided she had her face painted in miniature by Philip’s order. The artist was Jan van Eyck[vii], Philip’s official court painter[viii]. Philip’s offer may have been prompted by Prince Peter’s visit to Burgundy in 1494-5; for Philip the marriage would help solidify trade between the merchants of Flanders and Portugal.

Philip also wanted to maintain an equilibrium in his relations with France[ix] and England. This was a reversal of his previous two marriages; his first wives had French connections. A Portuguese bride would help keep Burgundy balanced between the two combatants. The proposal was accepted and on 2^nd February four messengers hastened back to Philip with the good news. After casting his eye on van Eyck’s miniature Philip was pleased to confirm the contract which was presented to King John on 11^th June.

The Union Between Burgundy and Portugal



Sluys

The marriage between Isabella and Philip took place by proxy on 24^th July, the day after her father signed the contract. Seigneur de Roubaix stood in place of Philip. The following eight weeks were filled with entertainments; feasts, tournaments and morality plays as Portugal prepared to bid adieu to its princess. On 30^th September King John and his sons led the flotilla of twenty ships that were to escort Isabella to Burgundy, from Lisbon to Porto where Isabella boarded.

The convoy left Portugal on 19^th October heading for Sluys. The journey was made horrendous by terrible weather as the flotilla crossed the Bay of Biscay and then hugged the coastline for the remainder of the journey. Several boats sank and the fleet was dispersed, two ships arriving in Flanders a month before Isabella. Most of Isabella’s trousseau was washed overboard. Some of the fleet took shelter in Southampton before resuming their onward journey to Sluys.

Isabella disembarked on 26^th December, with her brother Ferdinand and Seigneur Roubaix in attendance. She was weary after the long and dangerous voyage. Huge crowds, who had come to catch a first glimpse of their new duchess, meant created difficulties for Isabella and her entourage as they made their way to the lodgings provided for her in Sluys. It was not until 7^th January at a religious ceremony that she and Philip were wed.



Isabella and Philip

Philip had arranged for four hundred carts[x] to bring raw materials for the feasting from his southern capital of Dijon, along with many more from Lille. The wedding was celebrated at Philip’s northern capital of Bruges at his palace, the Princehof. Bruges was a centre for artists, banking and weaving and spinning and had a population of around 200,000.

Isabella made her formal entrance into Bruges on 8^th January and there followed a period of feasting and tournaments. The first banquet interspersed a series of tableaux between courses. At the final banquet where;

‘The pièce de résistance was a huge pie, containing a live sheep dyed blue with gilded horns,’[xi]

After the wedding Philip instituted the Order of the Golden Fleece. This was his attempt to bind his disparate lands together in a chivalric order based on the notions of Arthurian chivalry.

Introducing the New Duchess

Isabella’s new husband had a reputation as a womaniser; Philip had kept a bevy of mistresses while married the first two times. His first wife was Michelle of Valois, daughter of Charles VI of France whose only child died in infancy. When Michelle died in 1422[xii] Philip then married Bonne of Artois[xiii]. Bonne died in 1425 without having given Philip a child.

Over his lifetime Philip had at least twenty-four mistresses[xiv] and at least eighteen illegitimate children of whom his favourites were Corneille and Anthony[xv]. Philip’s licentious lifestyle must have come as a shock to the pious Isabella. After marrying Isabella Philip took as his motto ‘Autre n’auray’[xvi] but it was generally understood to mean no other wife. Nevertheless Philip treated Isabella with all courtesy; according to Philippe Wielant[xvii];

‘Duke Philip always showed considerable affection for my lady, Isabel of Portugal, his wife, and always took her with him everywhere and lodged her near him.’[xviii]

One of Philips’ first actions after the wedding was to take Isabella on a triumphal progress around his domains, to introduce his new wife to his subjects. Jeanne de Harcourt[xix] was the new duchess’s companion, instructing her in the customs and practises of the profligate Burgundian court which was very different from what Isabella had been used to in Portugal.

Coutrai

The first point of call was Ghent where they arrived on 16^th January. Travelling through Courtrai they arrived in Lille on 14^th February and from thence journeyed on to Brussels, Arras, Peronne, Malines and then Noyon. In March Isabella, who was pregnant, chose to recuperate from her journey in Noyon. She stayed there for most of the spring of 1430.

Charles VII of France was energised by Joan of Arc into fighting for his crown and country; he succeeded in beating back the English. Following the capture of Joan in 1431 by Burgundian forces and her subsequent trial and burning at the stake by the English, Charles VII cancelled the truces arranged with Philip who prepared to lead his soldiers back into battle. In a letter of 19^th January 1431, to his council in Ghent, Philip ordered his council in Ghent;

‘You will serve the duchess in her state and office representing me during my absence’[xx]

He appointed Isabella as administrator of his northern territories during the winter of 1430-1. Shortly before this appointment Isabella had proved her worth by negotiating payment of ten thousand guilders[xxi] in reparation for damages done to Namur by the men of Liège.

Bibliography

The Hundred Years War – Alfred Burne, Folio Society 2005

Joan of Arc – Kelly Devries, The History Press 2011

The Maid and the Queen – Nancy Goldstone, Penguin Books 2012

The Reign of Henry VI – RA Griffiths, Sutton Publishing Ltd 1998

Europe: Hierarchy and Revolt 1320-1450 – George Holmes, Fontana 1984

The Fifteenth Century – EF Jacob, Oxford University Press 1997

Joan of Arc – Edward Lucie-Smith, Penguin Books 2000

Isabel of Burgundy – Aline S Taylor, Madison Books 2001

Philip the Good – Richard Vaughan, Boydell Press 2014

www.wikipedia.en

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[i] Dying of dysentery in August 1422

[ii] A Maître des Comptes from Dijon

[iii] Robert of Bar appears to have had two daughters unwed at this time; Bonne and Jeanne; it is not clear which one is referred to

[iv] Again it is not possible to ascertain exactly who the author of the letter referred to

[v] Philip the Good - Vaughan

[vi] Near the source of the Sorraia River

[vii] Famed for his painting of the Arnolfini Marriage in the National Gallery London

[viii] His salary was 100 French livres per annum. In 2015 the relative: historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £70,510.00 labour earnings of that income or wealth is £614,100.00 economic status value of that income or wealth is £2,252,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £39,790,000.00 www.measuringwealth.com

[ix] He was the premier peer of France as well as being the sovereign Duke of Brabant and Limburg, Count of Flanders, Artois and Franche-Compté, Hainault, Holland, Zeeland, Namur (John III of Namur sold his county to Philip in 1429) and Charolais, in addition he was a Marquess of the Holy Roman Empire and Lord of Friesland

[x] Including 100 wagons of Burgundian wine, 15 cartloads of tapestries and 50 carts of furnishings and jewels. There was a further 50 carts of arms and armour to be used in the tournaments

[xi] Philip the Good - Vaughan

[xii] It was believed that she had been poisoned by one of her ladies-in-waiting who had been sent away from court just before Michelle’s death. The woman in question was not charged

[xiii] A widow whose first husband the Count of Nevers died at Agincourt

[xiv] He kept several mistresses at a time, based in various locations for ease of accessibility wherever he was during his travels; there were mistresses in Brussels, Arras, Louvain, Bruges and Lille amongst others

[xv] Corneille was given the title of Le Grand Bâtard du Burgoyne and this title passed to Anthony on Corneille’s death

[xvi] I will have no other

[xvii] A Flemish legal expert and historian, a contemporary of Philip’s

[xviii] Charles the Bold - Vaughan

[xix] Younger daughter of the Count of Harcourt John VII

[xx] Isabel of Burgundy - Taylor

[xxi] In 2015 the relative:historic standard of living value of that income or wealth is £6,883,000.00 labour earnings of that income or wealth is £62,010,000.00 economic status value of that income or wealth is £248,500,000.00 economic power value of that income or wealth is £4,427,000,000.00 www.measuringworth.com

A Duchess of Burgundy

John I of Portugal

The Portuguese-English Alliance

Isabella of Portugal was the only daughter of King John I of Portugal and his wife Philippa of Lancaster[i]. King John gained his throne following the death, in 1383, of his brother Ferdinand. Ferdinand’s only surviving child, the ten year old Beatrice, was married to King John of Castile. The Portuguese had no desire to be swallowed up by the Castilians, whose king was hungry to expand his domains. An interregnum followed the king’s death in October 1383 as the two John’s fought it out.

On 6^th April 1685 the Portuguese Cortes pronounced John, Master of the Order of Aviz[ii], king of Portugal. The Battle of Aljubarrota, fought on 14^th August 1385, between the Castilians and the Portuguese, resulted in a resounding victory for the Portuguese commanded by John and his general Nuno Alvarez Piera. More than 5,000 Castilian soldiers were killed after the battle. In October the Battle of Valverde merely served to confirm Portuguese independence from Spain.

John of Gaunt

The following year the newly crowned King John came to the aid of his father-in-law John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, when he attempted to take the throne of Castile by right of marriage[iii]. The Duchess of Lancaster and her daughter followed the army who were unimpressed. According to Froissart’s Chronicles the men grumbled;

‘What was the Duke of Lancaster thinking of….when he planned a big campaign yet brought his wife and daughter with him? It has held us back all to no purpose….As for the campaign and the capture of towns, cities and castles, the ladies are not much help there.’[iv]

Eventually John of Gaunt returned home having lost a large part of his army to sickness.

The Royal Family

Born in Évora, on 17^th January 1397, Isabella was one of six children and the only girl. Her oldest brother Edward was born in 1391, Peter[v] in 1392, Henry[vi] in March 1394, after Isabella came John[vii] born in January 1400[viii]. The last child, of what was to become known as the Illustrious Generation, was Ferdinand born in September 1402. The children had an older half-brother Don Alfonso[ix], the result of King John’s liaison with his mistress Inês Peres.

Don Alfonso

Although John is viewed by historians as not particularly bright he was an effective leader and a warrior who had a dream of recreating the Arthurian legend in Portugal. His sons were taught to venerate him as the saviour of Portuguese independence. John used the younger and lower ranking nobility to counter-balance the power of the older nobles and clergy, something that was viewed by the old aristocracy with disdain;

‘Another and new world then arose and a new generation of men; for the sons of people of such low degree that it would not be fitting to name them were, at that time, made knights for their good services to the king, and for their courage.’[x]

John also kept control of the machinery of government solely in his hands.

Philippa was a contrast to her husband imbued with the spirit of pragmatism. She was in control of the children’s education and instilled in them a strong religious faith and the sense of royal duty. Henry was dedicated to biblical and theological studies[xi] with an interest in liturgical matters, an interest inherited from his mother.

Philippa also involved herself in the affairs of the home she left behind her; intervening with her brother Henry IV, when he usurped the throne from their cousin Richard II, to help Richard’s followers. She also arranged the marriage of the Earl of Arundel[xii] to marry John’s illegitimate daughter Beatriz[xiii].

An Unusual Childhood

Philippa of Lancaster

Isabella was allowed to play with her older brothers, despite the formalities of the queen’s nursery. Isabella also helped to look after her younger brothers John and Ferdinand when they were small. John was to become a private and retiring person as an adult, while Ferdinand adored his adventurous brother Henry and dreamed of following in his footsteps.

The children were tutored to read in several languages including Latin, French, English and Italian, and were also taught science and mathematics. The royal children’s education, probably managed by Philippa, was of high quality as evidenced by their literary writings in adult life. Philippa imbued her children with admiration for the Plantagenet ancestry. In the spirit of her parents’ renaissance court Isabella was an avid reader and the siblings all enjoyed horse riding and hunting.

Edward was more suited to be a scholar than a king while his brother Charles had a temperament better suited for ruling; his advice to his brother on delaying decision making was very sensible;

‘Neither grant nor decide them [unclarified issues] at once; and those that certainly do not appear bad and unreasoned , do not deny them, but put them off so as later, with more repose and less fatigue, to determine them as you ought.’[xiv]

Isabella was sometimes allowed to join her brothers when they were tutored by their father in statecraft. Alongside them Isabella was schooled in diplomatic negotiations and the vagaries of politics, something that was to be of use to her later in life.

Real Politique

Walls of Ceuta

On 19^th June 1415 the eighteen year old Isabella was grief stricken when her mother Philippa died at the age of fifty three. Philippa caught the plague and died at Sacavém after bidding her children farewell. Her three older boys, about to be knighted, were presented with jewelled swords by the queen. John, whose marriage to Philippa had been based on the alliance with England, had grown quite fond of his wife and was;

‘So grieved by [her] mortal illness… that he could neither eat nor sleep.’[xv]

Mother and daughter had a close and affectionate relationship and after Philippa’s death Isabella withdrew from the world for a while. She spent her time with her ladies-in-waiting, keeping herself amused with needlework, singing and indulging her passion for reading.

Six days after their mother’s death the princes joined their father who led a fleet to north Africa in an attack on the port of Ceuta[xvi]. Philippa had coordinated the expedition. The battle of Ceuta in August resulted in the Portuguese taking the town, their first foothold in what was to become their empire in Africa. Edward was placed in charge of the town which was to become a drain on the Portuguese treasury[xvii].

Battle of Agincourt

Nine days before King John and his sons' attack on Ceuta, a momentous event was happening in the English Channel as Henry V led an army across to France to press his somewhat nebulous claims to the French throne. It did not take long for him to cut a swathe through France and by October had sealed his bid with victory at the battle of Agincourt[xviii].

This victory was to overturn the status quo; the Hundred Years War had been stagnating for some time, but Henry’s audacious feat was the start of the English domination of the last stages of the war.

Following the victory in France and with dreams of further military glories yet to come Henry V, hoping to create an anti-French alliance, looked to Portugal for a wife. Isabella received an offer of marriage from her maternal cousin of England. The Portuguese and English had been allies in trade for a long time and Henry’s grandfather had helped King John gain his kingdom. John’s marriage to Philippa had helped strengthen the ties between the two countries, but the negotiations failed.

Bibliography

The Fifteenth Century – Margaret Aston, WW Norton and Company 1979

The Hundred Years War – Alfred Burne, Folio Society 2005

Chronicles – Froissart, Penguin Books 1968

The Reign of Henry VI – RA Griffiths, Sutton Publishing Ltd 1998

Agincourt – Christopher Hibbert, Pan Books 1964

The Fifteenth Century – EF Jacob, Oxford University Press 1997

Prince Henry – Peter Russell, Yale University Press 2000

Isabel of Burgundy – Aline S Taylor, Madison Books 2001

www.wikipedia.en

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[i] Eldest child of John of Gaunt and cousin of King Richard II of England

[ii] A chivalric order

[iii] See http://wolfgang20.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/bertrand-du-guesclin-v.html

[iv] Chronicles - Froissart

[v] Duke of Coimbra

[vi] One of Portugal’s most famous sons, Duke of Viseu, he became known as Henry the Navigator and is regarded as the main force behind the Age of Discoveries

[vii] Later Constable of Portugal

[viii] Two children, possibly girls, died at birth in the years between Isabella’s birth and the birth of Prince John

[ix] Later Duke of Braganza

[x] Prince Henry - Russell

[xi] In later life he was to found a chair of theology at Lisbon University

[xii] One of her brother’s principal supporters

[xiii] Born in 1386, Beatriz was the youngest child of John’s relationship with Inês Perez

[xiv] Isabel of Burgundy - Taylor

[xv] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippa_of_Lancaster

[xvi] The town was part of the Kingdom of Fez captured from the Hafsids with the assistance of the King of Aragon

[xvii] It was later decided that the port of Tangiers was essential for their expansionist plans but the city was not taken until 1471. Tangiers was handed over to England in 1662 as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza when she married Charles II

[xviii] See http://wolfgang20.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/charles-duke-of-orleans.html and http://wolfgang20.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/shakespeares-buffoon-ii.html