Margaret of Austria

Regent and governor of the Netherlands (1507-1530)

• Born: January 10, 1480
• Birthplace: Brussels, duchy of Brabant (now in Belgium)
• Died: December 1, 1530
• Place of death: Mechelen, Spanish Netherlands (now in Belgium)

Margaret of Austria gained fame during her long and colorful life as the highly regarded regent and governor of the Netherlands, as a patron of the arts, and as a musician.

Early Life

Habsburg princess Margaret of Austria was born in Coudenberg Palace, Brussels, which later became the capital of the Netherlands (now in Belgium). She was the daughter of archduke Maximilian of Austria who later became Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and Mary of Burgundy, who died after a fall from her horse when Margaret was still an infant.

The Habsburg family, which spread throughout much of Europe, had been the bloodline of royalty of the Austrian Holy Roman Empire for more than four hundred years. As a Habsburg, Margaret’s title was Austrian; however, the Netherlands was Burgundian at the time of her birth. Margaret’s maternal grandfather was the powerful duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold.

In 1483, when she was only three years old, Margaret became engaged to the thirteen-year-old dauphin of France, who was soon to become King Charles VIII . She was to be reared at the French court under the guardianship of Louis XI ; however, he died in August of that year. Although Margaret’s stay in France was ostensibly designed to form her into a proper French queen, the demand that Princess Margaret be reared in France was actually Louis XI’s insurance that her father, Maximilian I, would not attack. Thus, the princess was essentially a hostage. Her primary caretakers were her future sister-in-law and Louis XI’s daughter, Anne de Beaujeu, and her governess. She received from these women a distinguished education that was particularly rich in the arts.

When the dauphin became King Charles VIII in 1483, his sister, Anne, and her husband acted as provisional regents. With the perceived lack of strength on the French throne, various noble families tried to shift some of that power into their own hands. The last independent fief in France was inherited by Anne of Brittany . She became betrothed to Maximilian I in a political and military alliance. Charles VIII, however, renounced his engagement to Margaret in an effort to prevent Maximilian I from making Anne of Brittany his second wife. Charles also backed out of the Treaty of Arras and married the eleven-year-old Anne of Brittany himself.

Furthermore, Charles refused to let Margaret return home because it would have meant returning her dowry. War was declared, and Margaret remained yet longer as a hostage at the French court. On May 23, 1493, the Treaty of Senlis was signed and most of the dowry was returned to the Netherlands. Consequently, Margaret was returned to her father.

Life’s Work

Margaret of Austria gained recognition in three separate areas: as a leader in government and politics, as a patron of the arts, and as a musician. Although it would seem Margaret was doomed to unhappiness after being rejected in marriage, that incident instead directed her to her destiny as an important European political figure.

After returning to her father’s court, Margaret unfortunately suffered through two more difficult marriage situations. In 1497, intent on finding an advantageous political match for Margaret, and one that would keep his French enemy under control, Maximilian I arranged for the seventeen-year-old Margaret to marry the nineteen-year-old John of Spain. John was the son of King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I of Spain and heir to the throne of Castile and Aragon. They were wed at Burgos, but John was to die less than a year later. The widowed Margaret married yet again, this time to Duke Philibert II of Savoy, whom she loved desperately. History, however, was quick to repeat itself, and within three years she was again widowed. When Maximilian I attempted to arrange yet another marriage for now twice-widowed daughter, this time with the old king of England, Henry VII, she adamantly refused. Margaret of Austria swore to remain a widow forever. This declaration allowed her to gain a great deal of autonomous power as a ruler.

In 1508, Margaret’s talents as a powerful and sharp negotiator were brought to public light when she played an important role in the formation of the League of Cambrai . The league was an alliance between her father, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, France (now under Louis XII), Pope Julius II , and other European states, against the Republic of Venice, which was aggressively intent on territorial expansion. In addition, again acting as an intermediary for her father, Margaret successfully negotiated a commercial treaty profiting Flemish cloth interests with England.

It was the sudden death of her brother, Philip I, the Handsome, in 1506, however, that determined Margaret’s destiny. First, she became a brilliant ruler when Maximilian I, without Margaret’s permission, appointed her regent and governor of the Netherlands in 1507. In this capacity, the widowed Margaret found her true calling. She ruled the Netherlands as a wise and highly respected regent.

Second, Philip I was married to Joan, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. He thus brought the Habsburg line into Spain. When Philip died, Joan became insane, and Margaret became guardian of their children: Eleonora, Isabella, Mary, and, in particular, her nephew, Charles. Margaret built a palace and a court of her own. Her influence in the political arena and as a patron of the arts reached far and wide, even to Rome. Her nephew Charles was to inherit a vast empire on the death of his grandfather Maximilian I, as Charles I, king of Spain (1516-1556), and as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1519-1558).

Although Charles, for a time, revolted against her authority, he nevertheless continued to entrust Margaret of Austria with the regency of the Netherlands. He also came to depend on her insightful judgment and to view her as one of his most loyal allies until her death in 1530.

In 1529, representing the beleaguered Charles, she achieved great fame by shrewdly negotiating and signing the Treaty of Cambrai, or what became known as the Ladies’ Peace. For ten years, Charles and France had remained continually at war over land disputes and were repeatably unable to achieve peace. Margaret successfully negotiated the Ladies’ Peace with Louise of Savoy (1476-1531), regent of France for her son Francis I . They ended the ten-year war. The Treaty of Cambrai renewed the Treaty of Madrid, except that it did not demand the surrender of Burgundy to Charles. At its signing, the future of Europe lay in Margaret of Austria’s hands.

Margaret of Austria’s prominent patronage of the arts included the support of literature, the visual arts, and the music associated with the early sixteenth century Northern Renaissance. Until recent scholarship showed differently, women at this time were not known to have taken on patronage roles. In this era of turmoil, when the arts could no longer depend on the Church for support, as they had during medieval times, Europe’s courts developed into cultural centers, with musicians and artists becoming highly regarded members of the court. Musicians, writers, and artists found refuge at Margaret of Austria’s court, among them the French composers Antoine Brumel, Perrequin de Thérache, the Franco-Flemish Pierre La Rue, and the French poet and historiographer Jean Lemaire. Of particular interest are the manuscripts familiarly known as the “Chanson Albums of Marguerite of Austria.” In addition, Margaret was an extremely skilled musician.

Margaret lived by the motto “Fortune makes every woman very unfortunate.” She died at the age of fifty as the result of an infection and at the hands of an incompetent surgeon.

Significance

As a Habsburg ruler and as governor of the Netherlands for her nephew, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Margaret of Austria helped consolidate Habsburg dominion in the Netherlands. In an era when few women had any power, Margaret achieved great fame as a wise and popular ruler. She was especially noted for her shrewd diplomatic skills and was responsible for bringing about the Ladies’ Peace with Louise of Savoy, which ended ten years of war with France.

Furthermore, as a well-known patron of the arts, she cultivated cultural centers in the Netherlands that housed and supported artists. These centers contributed greatly to the intellectual life of the sixteenth century Northern Renaissance. She also was a highly regarded and talented musician, contributing both vocal and instrumental compositions to early sixteenth century Renaissance music.

Bibliography

Farquhar, Michael. A Treasury of Royal Scandals: The Shocking True Stories of History’s Wickedest, Weirdest, Most Wanton Kings, Queens, Tsars, Popes, and Emperors. New York: Penguin, 2001. Discusses in great detail the Habsburg family, of which Margaret of Austria was a member. In particular, it provides an effective Habsburg family tree.

Iongh, Jane de. Margaret of Austria, Regent of the Netherlands. Translated by M. D. Herter. New York: Norton, 1953. The long-standing primary biography for Margaret of Austria in English.

Picker, Martin. The Chanson Albums of Marguerite of Austria. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1965. Offers information on Margaret as regent of the Netherlands, her role and contributions as a patron of the arts, and her personal career as a musician.

Sautman, Francesca Canadé, and Pamela Sheingorn, eds. Same Sex Love and Desire Among Women in the Middle Ages. New York: Palgrave, 2001. Chapter 11, “Laudomia Forteguerri Loves Margaret of Austria,” discusses Renaissance poet Forteguerri’s affection for Margaret of Austria through an examination of five surviving sonnets.

Wheatcroft, Andrew. The Habsburgs: Embodying Empire. New York: Viking, 1995. Provides a historical overview of the colorful Habsburg family, which acts as a historical and political framework in which to place Margaret of Austria.