The arrest of one so closely associated with the marriage bond provoked a scandal in the city, and promised to cause yet another delay in the marriage arrangements. Margaret intervened personally and appealed to her brother, this time, it would seem, against the interests of the Woodvilles. Cook was released from prison, but his freedom was only temporary for ‘as long as she [Margaret] was within the land’36 and he was eventually to suffer both re-imprisonment and the pillaging of his property by Lord Rivers’ men who carried off the coveted tapestries. Since several others involved in the affair including Cornelius and Hawkins were hung, Cook came off better than most. This sort of crisis hardly smoothed Margaret’s path to her wedding.
A tithe granted by Convocation furnished the costs of Margaret’s own apparel and her travelling expenses which were very generous.37 Her trousseau included £1,000 worth of silks, £160 worth of gold, silver and gilt dishes and £100 worth of bedding, cushions and carpets. She received £900 in cash and a further £200 was paid directly to her steward Sir John Scott for ‘her diet from London to Bruges’. Sir John, Comptroller of the Royal Household, was one of those who had been closely involved in the marriage negotiations.
In all the lists of her provisions there is no mention of the golden coronet, a beautiful example of the jeweller’s crafts, which is today in the treasury of the cathedral at Aachen.38 This seems to have been intended as a votive crown because it is very small, only about 12 centimetres in diameter and equally high. It is trimmed with pearls and decorated with precious stones set into very finely wrought enamelled white roses. Alternating with the jewelled roses are red, green and white enamelled letters which spell out ‘Margaret of York’, but some of the letters are now missing. At the centre front there is a diamond cross with a great pearl above it set into a large white rose. Above the coronet rises a diadem of seven jewelled roses, with smaller roses in between them. Along the lower edge are golden ‘Cs’ and ‘Ms’ entwined with lovers’ knots. The coronet was carried in a fine leather case with the arms of Burgundy and England embossed on the lid. It may have been made earlier at the time of the coronation of Edward IV and certainly the prominence of the white roses would indicate an English provenance. If so, the initials and knots may have been added for this occasion. It is, however, equally possible that Charles presented the coronet to enhance the majesty of his bride. At the wedding Margaret is reported as wearing a coronet above her loosely flowing blonde hair.
Not everyone was pleased with the marriage alliance. Jehan de Waurin recorded that the wedding took place ‘in spite of Louis XI, Warwick and nearly all the people of England’.39 He was certainly right about Louis XI, who did all in his power to prevent the marriage. When he failed to secure his preferred Anglo-French marriage, he tried to prevent the issue of the papal dispensation and then to obstruct the loans being raised to pay for the dowry. He used his financial contacts in Milan to bring pressure on the Florentine bankers, and he spread the word that Edward was a poor man who could not be expected to raise the money in time. He also increased his support for the deposed King Henry VI, and encouraged Jasper Tudor to invade Wales.
When this too failed, Louis spread slanderous stories about Margaret herself, willingly retold by Panicharola, the Milanese ambassador to the French Court. These rumours have been enthusiastically repeated by many more recent historians too.40 Panicharola reported that Duke Charles had himself been told, ‘of what more and more people now know’ that being that Margaret was ‘somewhat attached to love affairs and even, in the opinion of many, has had a son’. He also described Charles’ reaction to the story, which sounds, if anything, rather mild for such a brutal man. Anyone repeating the story within the duchy was to be thrown at once into the nearest river. Aliprando, Panicharola’s successor, repeated the tale in 1472 when he wrote to his master that ‘all was not well between the King of England and the Duke of Burgundy … on account of the Duchess who did not go to her husband a virgin’. These stories seem to have originated in the court of France, and were probably the origin of a lasting personal antagonism between Margaret and King Louis.
There is no evidence that the slanders had any substance. Indeed Margaret would appear to have been the very model of female propriety. Even Edward Hall, who stretched himself to the limit in hunting for unpleasant epithets for the wicked ‘old Lady of Burgundy’ who so plagued the first Tudor King, did not repeat these stories. Indeed in his account of her marriage, Hall described the young Margaret as ‘a fayre virgin of excellent beautie and yet more of womanhode than beautie and more of vertue than womanhode … not to be unworthy to match in matrimony with the greatest prince in the world’.41
On the other hand, it was well-known on the continent that Edward IV was notorious for his amorous adventures and also that Margaret’s sister Anne had taken a lover, Thomas St Leger, while her husband the Duke of Exeter was living in exile. Anne’s marriage was later annulled and she married St Leger. Louis could profitably equate Margaret with her sister and brother. Moreover, at the age of twenty-two, Margaret was considered rather old to be marrying for the first time, and therefore unlikely to still be a virgin.
The French King’s efforts to prevent the marriage did not end with the purveyance of gossip. He may also have ordered French ships to waylay the fleet conveying the Princess from England to Flanders. According to Jean de Haynin, the English crew told him that there was a skirmish at sea, and they showed him a blue and red silk standard seized from the French.42
Apart from Louis’ displeasure, there was dissatisfaction in England too. The Earl of Warwick did not attend the Council at Kingston when Margaret gave her consent, and according to Calmette he refused to assist with the dowry. Margaret’s marriage was regarded by contemporaries as a serious cause of friction between Edward and his ‘Kingmaker’. The King certainly made some visible efforts to conciliate his mighty cousin. At the end of 1467 Warwick was granted the wardship of Francis, Viscount Lovel and at the Great Council of January 1468 the two men appeared together in public, having apparently settled their differences.43 Clarence also had good reasons to be displeased by his sister’s marriage. Nothing had come of the earlier proposals for himself, and within the year the aggrieved Clarence began to conspire to marry Warwick’s elder daughter and heiress.
As to ‘the people of England’, they too were not entirely pleased with the new Anglo-Burgundian treaty. Duke Charles continued to restrict English cloth imports, and when the new exchange rate was finally fixed at Bruges in 1469 it was very unpopular. There were substantial numbers of Flemish immigrants in England who had arrived from Holland and Flanders during the 1440s, and many of these had settled in Southwark. They were attacked in the late summer of 1468 and again in 1469. The first riots involved John Poynings and William Ashford, who had attended Margaret’s wedding in the train of the Duchess of Norfolk. They were accused of making contact with the Lancastrian exiles in Burgundy, and of plotting to attack the Flemings on their return. The riots were partly due to English xenophobia but they were provoked by the high prices charged in Bruges during the marriage ceremonies, which inflamed the English who regarded the Flemish as profiteers. ‘The Burgoners showed no more favour unto the Englishmen than they would to a Jew’.44 How far these feelings were stirred up either by the French King or by Warwick, always very popular in the city of London, is a matter for conjecture.
In spite of the opposition at home and abroad, and after all the delays, Margaret at last set out on her future life, leaving from the Royal Wardrobe on Saturday 18 June.45 Warwick’s approval was made public when Margaret rode behind him on a pillion through the streets of London. At St Paul’s she made an offering ‘with great devotion’ and then progressed along Cheapside where she was greeted by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, who presented her with a pair of rich silver-gilt bowls, worth £100 in gold. Her procession crossed London Bridge and she spent the night with the court at the Abbey of Stratford on the south side of the Thames.
After att
ending service on the Sunday, Margaret made her final farewells and then left, accompanied by her two younger brothers and a large retinue, to make a pilgrimage to the shrine of St Thomas à Becket. Edward impetuously decided to accompany Margaret, and the whole royal party spent three days on the journey stopping at Dartford, Rochester and Sittingbourne. On the Thursday morning, accompanied by all her brothers and the Earls of Warwick, Shrewsbury and Northumberland, Margaret made her pilgrimage at Canterbury. The next day she embarked on the ‘New Ellen’ at Margate, and as soon as the wind and tide were favourable, the fleet of about sixteen ships set sail. They included some of the largest English ships, the ‘St John’ of Newcastle and the ‘Mary’ of Salisbury. These large ships were needed not merely to carry over the vast entourage and all their horses and equipment, but were essential to protect the wealthy passengers and their luxurious cargo from the threat of both the French and the pirates who infested the Channel.
Margaret’s chief presenter was Anthony, Lord Scales.46 With his own deep piety and interest in books and manuscripts, he may well have been a pleasing personal choice for Margaret, but his presence there together with his youngest brother, Sir Edward Woodville, affirmed the Queen’s strong commitment to this marriage. Lord Scales was also travelling to Bruges to answer Count Anthony’s challenge and he would play a leading role in the wedding tournament of the Golden Tree. Margaret’s chamberlain was Lord Dacre, a close friend of Edward IV, who together with William Hatcliffe, another member of the wedding party, would visit Margaret on several future occasions as emissaries between the English King and his sister.
Lord Wenlock was another leading member of the wedding party. No official notice had been taken of his servant’s accusations that he was in touch with the Lancastrian exiles and his presence on board was an indication of Warwick’s approval, since Wenlock was one of the Earl’s closest allies. The bridal retinue was augmented by many diplomats including Sir John Howard, John Russel, Sir Thomas Montgomery and Henry Sharp, all of whom had been involved in the negotiations and were now present to see the completion of the contracts.
The bride’s ladies were headed by the beautiful Elizabeth Talbot, Duchess of Norfolk, who brought her own large retinue.47 Among the other ladies was Lady Willoughby, ‘a lovely widow’, whose husband had died fighting against Edward at the battle of Towton and whose son and grandson, Sir Richard and Sir Robert Welles, would be executed for treason in 1470. There were more reliable Yorkists including the Lady Scrope, wife of Lord Scrope of Bolton, and a Neville relative, the Lady Clifford. Welcome additions to this highly political party were two of the royal jesters, John Lesaige and Richard l’Amoureux.48
The sea crossing took one and a half days, and although it may not be true that they were attacked by the French, it is still most likely that Margaret and her ladies knelt on the deck in relief, when they saw the church towers of Aardenburg and Sluis, and knew that their journey was nearly over. The Channel had a fearful reputation for storms, shipwrecks, delays and piracy. The English fleet made port at Sluis at six o’clock on the evening of Saturday 25 June. It was an auspicious day for the arrival of an English princess, since it was the anniversary of the English victory at Sluis over the French fleet in 1340.49 Simon de Lalaing, one of the ducal chamberlains and the Bailiff of Sluis, went out on a barge to greet Margaret.50 With him went musicians playing trumpets and clarions.
The whole of her reception had been very carefully prepared, and from the moment of her arrival everything was done to honour and please the new Duchess. While Margaret had been making her farewells in England, Duke Charles was personally checking all the arrangements at Bruges, Sluis and Damme. He was in the area from 16 June and actually at Sluis on the day of her arrival. He then remained either at Sluis or Bruges for a further two weeks, an unusually static period in the life of such an active ruler, who seldom remained in any one place, except when he was with his armies, for more than a few days.
Although he was in the vicinity, the Duke did not meet Margaret on her arrival, since this would have broken all the rules of court etiquette. He had deputed the Bishop of Utrecht and the Countess of Charny to meet Margaret on his behalf. The Countess and the Bishop were Charles’ half-sister and half-brother, more of the old Duke Philip’s many bastards. They were both politically important at the Burgundian court. David, the Bishop of Utrecht, had previously made contact with the House of York when he entertained Margaret’s brothers, Richard and George, after the death of their father at Wakefield. He was one of the most important bishops in the Burgundian Church, and a key figure in the Burgundian control of the northern Netherlands.
The whole of the small port of Sluis was en fête to welcome the English Princess. By the time Margaret came ashore it was already dark and the householders had been ordered to stand at their doors bearing flaming torches to light her way through the town. She was met at the Watergate by the chief burghers, who presented her with a purse containing twelve gold marks. Wearing a crimson dress with a long train trimmed in black (a compliment to her new country since these were Burgundian colours) she made her way through carpeted streets to the Market Place where the town house of the wealthy merchant, Guy van Baenst, had been appointed for her residence.
Opposite the house a platform had been built and throughout the week she stayed at Sluis pageants were performed daily for her entertainment. There were more pageants at Damme and during her procession into Bruges. Every theme and detail of these displays had been carefully chosen for its symbolism and significance. For the most part, they portrayed scenes of appropriate marriages selected from biblical, classical and historical sources such as the weddings of Ahasuerus, Paris and Clovis. The symbolism of these subjects would not have been lost on Margaret nor on any of her contemporaries. The Jewish Esther had married King Ahasuerus, and because of her influence over the King she was able to save the chosen people from destruction.51 She was regarded as one of the most noble women in the Old Testament and in Margaret’s case there was a further analogy in that Margaret, like Esther, was a foreign bride. Since the story of Esther stressed the bride’s responsibilities both to her husband and to her own people, scenes from her history were often performed at great state weddings. They would be seen again in Burgundy when Joanna of Castile married Philip the Fair, Duke Charles’ grandson, and in England when her sister Catherine of Aragon married Prince Arthur half a century later.52 Margaret certainly never forgot her dual loyalties to her family and her husband. She would have justified her later actions against the Tudors in terms of her moral obligation to her own people.
The same medieval mixture of religion, myth and politics was seen in references to the legend of Troy, and would also be regarded as particularly relevant to the marriage of Margaret of York. According to medieval historians, Brutus, the grandson of Aeneas, had finally reached Albion, which had been renamed Britain after him. He had founded a new city of Troy on the banks of the Thames but the name of this city had been changed later during the rule of a chieftain called Lud who fought against Julius Caesar.53 Thus Margaret came from the ‘New Troy’ or London, crossing the Channel on the ‘New Ellen’, arriving with her fleet at Sluis. The Duke’s great set of Brutus or Troy tapestries included the beautiful ‘Ships tapestry’ showing the Greek fleet in the waters outside Troy looking not unlike the English wedding fleet waiting in the harbour of Sluis.54 Both Margaret and Charles exhibited a lasting interest in the story of Troy. In 1472 the magistracy of Bruges gave the Duke another set of Troy tapestries commissioned from Pasquier Grenier, a gift intended both to delight their ruler and to recall his marriage celebrations in their city. At about the same time, the first book ever to be printed in English was made at Bruges by the command of Margaret. It was a collection of the tales of Troy diplomatically chosen by William Caxton to catch her eye.55
The legend of Jason was another example of the medieval talent for synthesising religious and classical stories, and it was also particularly appropriate to the Burgun
dian court. Jason, the hero of the Argosy, had become merged with Gideon, the shepherd hero of the Book of Judges.56 Since the foundation of the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1430, the legend of the argonauts had been especially important in Burgundy. The Order of the Golden Fleece rivalled the English Order of the Garter, and enhanced the prestige and status of the Dukes themselves. Other rulers were offered membership of the Order as signs of friendship and alliance. In 1467 Charles had invited Edward to join the Order. The chain of the Order, decorated by a pendant in the form of a golden fleece, hung around the necks of all the greatest men in the ducal domain, and these knights in their brilliant robes escorted the bride into Bruges on her wedding day.
Some of the wedding pageants may have been chosen to echo the themes of the magnificent ducal tapestries, which were on display in the palace at Bruges throughout the wedding.57 The story of Esther, the legend of Jason and the Golden Fleece, and the legend of Troy, were particularly prominent in the marriage celebrations, and there were tapestries on each of these subjects in the ducal collection. The wedding pageants mirrored the tapestries and the tapestries in their turn mirrored the wedding. On the Esther tapestries, there was a scene of a wedding feast which was a replica of that being so busily prepared at Bruges while Margaret was entertained at Sluis.58
Margaret of York: The Diabolical Duchess Page 3