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| 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 18th
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 19th January 1429 to present Philip’s proposal to
John and his sons.
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| 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 2nd
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 11th June.
The Union Between Burgundy and Portugal
.JPG/800px-0_Sluis_-_Stenen_Kade_(1).JPG) |
| Sluys |
The marriage
between Isabella and Philip took place by proxy on 24th 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 30th 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 19th 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 26th 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 7th
January at a religious ceremony that she and Philip were wed.
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| 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 8th
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.
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| Coutrai |
The first
point of call was Ghent where they arrived on 16th
January. Travelling through Courtrai they arrived in Lille on 14th 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 19th 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
[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
[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
[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
[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
an unimaginably difficult life to the modern woman, arduous journeys and marriage to a stranger who disses you with a troop of whores.
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