This type of journey was repeated at least three times a year. All her travelling was a means of upholding the ducal authority. This was maintained not only by armies and officials but also by chroniclers, artists, musicians and ceremonial occasions. The supremacy and inviolability of the Duke were proclaimed for all to see as the Duchess’ richly caparisoned cavalcade with glittering knights and bejewelled horses trotted through the countryside and entered the villages and towns. These processions enhanced the reputation of the Duke and Margaret who, with her regal solemnity, attracted respectful attention.
Margaret also travelled for more practical reasons. Some of her journeys were dictated by external events such as the serious outbreak of the plague in Flanders of 1471 to 1472 which kept the ducal ladies away from Bruges and Ghent. Sometimes she had to move because building alterations temporarily rendered one of the castles uninhabitable. The castle of Ten Waele at Ghent underwent major works in the early 1470s, and towards the end of the renovations Margaret spent some time there apparently ensuring that the rooms were to her taste and comfort.40 She also attended the great functions of state, such as the chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece, which met at Valenciennes in May 1473 and the session of the Great Council at Malines a year later.41 The needs of government obliged her to undertake several journeys and, during the last year of her marriage, most of her travels were concerned with her efforts to raise more money and men for the ducal wars in Lorraine and Alsace. Sometimes it was foreign policy which dictated her movements. In 1475 she had to hurry down to Calais to conciliate her brother Edward who, having finally arrived on the continent with a large army, found that his ally Charles was still far away at the siege of Neuss.
Apart from her active role as a ducal emissary, Margaret also had other responsibilities. It was her duty to give guidance and support to the heiress Mary, a task Margaret entered into with loving enthusiasm. The close relationship which she built up with her stepdaughter was to be of value to them both, especially in 1477. Mary had seen little of her mother who had been ill, probably with tuberculosis, for some time before she died at Antwerp in 1465.42 The girl had a succession of governesses all under the supervision of Anne of Burgundy, her father’s half-sister. Her childhood companions included her cousins, Ravenstein’s son Philip, and John of Cleves. From 1463 to 1468 she had lived mainly at Ten Waele at Ghent, where her chief female attendant was Jeanne de Clito, a cousin of the chronicler Commynes and the wife of the High Steward of Flanders, Jehan of Hallewijn who was an eminent councillor and a ducal chamberlain. The Lady Hallewijn remained Mary’s most constant companion throughout her short life. As befitted the greatest heiress of her age, Mary received a good education and was provided with every delight imaginable, including many pet animals, one of which was a giraffe, as well as the usual birds and dogs. She was a healthy energetic girl, especially fond of outdoor exercise such as hunting and falconry, but she also had a taste for music, chess and art.
From their first meeting at Sluis, Margaret and Mary enjoyed each other’s company. There were only eleven years between them and while Margaret would find Mary a useful companion for improving her French and for learning some Dutch, Mary in her turn seems to have learned some English and to have enjoyed the attention of an older woman. They were together almost continually for the following nine years, apart from the five months of 1471 when Mary was based at Mons. From the middle of 1472, Mary was again with Margaret, chiefly at Ghent and Brussels, though she was often obliged to remain at Ghent as a virtual hostage for her father’s extortionate loans.
Like Margaret, Mary had received a pious upbringing and she took her religious duties very seriously. They went on several pilgrimages together with Mary, showing a special devotion to the cult of St Colette, whose life had been dedicated to the reform of convents in Burgundy and northern France. Margaret also supported the reformed orders, and her donation of the beautifully illuminated ‘Life of St Colette’ to the convent of the Poor Clares at Ghent, was perhaps in honour of Mary.43
As his heiress, Mary was a valuable asset to Duke Charles and it was for this reason that she remained unmarried during his lifetime. From 1461 to 1477 she was offered to a bewildering succession of suitors, some of whom she had probably never even heard. The parade of candidates for the hand of the Burgundian heiress included Ferdinand of Aragon, who later married Isabella of Castile, Nicholas of Lorraine, George, Duke of Clarence, Duke Francis II of Brittany, the Dauphin Charles, Charles Duke of Berry the brother of Louis XI, Philibert of Savoy who had also been considered as a suitor for Margaret, Nicholas of Anjou and Archduke Maximilian, the Habsburg heir.
From time to time Margaret and Mary were drawn into the negotiations, entertaining or writing to the suitor of the moment. In July 1472 Mary wrote to Nicholas of Lorraine expressing her delight at her father’s decision that she should have no other husband but him. Her letter was merely another move in the Duke’s elaborate diplomacy. Nicholas died in the following July.44 Throughout all these long negotiations for Mary’s marriage, the Duchess Margaret, with at least seven years of similar experience, would have been well able to counsel Mary and support her throughout all the diplomatic wrangles. The most frequently recurring candidate was Maximilian. A betrothal between them was suggested as early as 1463, when Duke Philip was considering the advantages of acquiring an imperial crown. Maximilian’s candidature was revived in 1467, in 1469 and again in 1473, but it was not until after the battle of Grandson in 1476 that the betrothal was firmly negotiated, and a marriage was planned to take place at Cologne in November of 1477.45 Even this was not the final settlement, for after her father’s death Mary’s marriage was again the subject of great speculation, and only firm action by Mary, Margaret and their closest advisers finally secured the momentous Burgundian-Habsburg marriage.
Mary was not the only woman at the Burgundian court with whom Margaret was expected to develop a valuable relationship. The Dowager Duchess Isabelle of Portugal had, like Margaret, celebrated her marriage at Bruges with great splendour, and the occasion of her wedding was marked by the creation of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Of her three sons, only Charles had survived and she had had to endure the perpetual infidelities of her husband. With some reason she became, according to her husband, the most jealous woman alive. Her closest supporter at the court had been the able Chancellor Rolin and after his resignation she played a less visible role in politics. After 1468, the Dowager withdrew once more to her finely situated castle at La Motte aux Bois in the forest of Nieppe, southern Flanders, where the Duke and the Duchess visited her on several occasions. We know that Margaret kept her mother-in-law well informed on matters of mutual interest, especially over the dramatic events in England during 1470 to 1471.46 Both Margaret and Charles were nearby at Arques when the Dowager died at St Omer on 13 December 1471.
Margaret learned to work closely with both court nobles and important officials. The most important baron in the Low Countries was Adolph, Lord Ravenstein, Charles’ cousin,and also after 1470 his brother-in-law.47 Lord Ravenstein was a prominent member of Margaret’s wedding party in July 1468 and he accompanied her on many of her journeys. Like his brother John, Duke of Cleves, he was a Knight of the Golden Fleece and belonged to the innermost circle at the court. In addition to his income from his large estates he received a ducal annuity of 6,000 francs, making him one of the richest noblemen in Burgundy. As Lieutenant-General of the Low Countries he worked with Margaret to raise troops and gather in money and support for the ducal armies in Lorraine.
Equally eminent at court was Anthony, Count of La Roche.48 Margaret would have met him for the first time at the Smithfield tournament. He played a major role in her wedding ceremonies, especially at the tournament. His resultant injuries had been so long lasting that he was still allowed to sit in the ducal presence as late as January 1469, when the delegates came from Ghent to Brussels to make their formal submission to Duke Charles. Anthony was the first chamberlain of the court. H
e held the key to the ducal bedchamber and he had custody of the ducal seal. In battle he was in command of the ducal banner and often acted as a Regent for the Duke. As a military commander he fought bravely for Charles on many occasions, losing his best jewels at Beauvais in 1472 and his personal seal at Grandson. He was sent on several diplomatic missions to Italy and England and in this capacity he may have been of some special service to Margaret, helping her to keep in touch with her relatives. However, he showed no loyalty to her personally, nor to his niece Mary. He was taken prisoner at Nancy and with the French conquest of the Duchy of Burgundy, where most of his lands were situated, he transferred his allegiance to Louis XI.
Two other half brothers of Duke Charles were familiar and important members of the ducal court, David, Bishop of Utrecht and John, Bishop of Cambrai.49 Both of these men were very worldly priests, David involved in the politics of the northern provinces and John embroiled with a succession of women. His funeral mass in 1480 was attended by thirty-six of his illegitimate offspring. It was from John of Burgundy that Margaret eventually bought her house in Malines. Clergymen likely to have been more popular with Margaret were Ferry de Clugny, who became the Bishop of Tournai and his brother Guillaume, the Papal Pro-notary in the Low Countries.50 Both men had been involved in the negotiations for her marriage and remained in her confidence after the death of the Duke.
Margaret would also have had regular contact with Lord Louis of Gruuthuyse, Phillippe of Croy the Lord of Chimay, Anthoine Rolin the son of the great Chancellor and the Lord of Aymeries, and Guillaume Bische the Lord of Clary.51 During the last years of Duke Charles’ life these men all worked with Margaret. Louis de Gruuthuyse was also a useful contact with England since he became a close personal friend of Edward IV. The Lord of Chimay knew Charles very well indeed and his description of the Duke at Neuss in late 1474 gives a good idea of this restless man. He described Charles as ‘a flying duke who moves more than a swallow … always on his feet, never resting and managing to be everywhere at once’. Chimay was taken prisoner at Nancy, only returning to Ghent with Maximilian after he had been ransomed. He remained loyal and served both Mary and her heirs. Margaret honoured him by becoming the godmother to one of his sons. Anthoine Rolin was principally occupied in Hainault, and in the crisis of 1477 he cooperated with Margaret in raising troops against the French invasion. Clary was another who stood by Margaret after the disaster of Nancy.
The two most important officials who worked with Margaret were, however, both new men whose careers had been made in Charles’ service: the Chancellor, Guillaume Hugonet, Lord of Saillant, and Guy de Brimeu, Lord Humbercourt.52 The latter came from a wealthy noble family in Picardy and he was both a military man and a clever administrator. Charles used him as a tough trouble-shooter, sending him in succession to Liège, Luxembourg and Guelders to deal with powerful opposition parties and rebellions. As a result of his position, Humbercourt acquired large estates in the Meuse valley and around Maastricht. As one of the most zealous ducal servants he attracted a great deal of hostility, for which he was to pay in 1477. So too did Chancellor Hugonet, who had served Charles for many years before he inherited the duchy. Charles held Hugonet’s erudition and eloquence in great respect. His two-hour-long speeches would be packed with classical and biblical quotations and allusions. They were not so well received by the Flemish Estates, and his hard line in dealing with his opponents inspired a deep hatred of him in Ghent and Bruges.
Tommaso Portinari was the Duke’s most important financial advisor and creditor. By 1477 Charles owed the Medici bank more than £57,000. Portinari lived the life of a great courtier accompanying Charles on the most important occasions of his life. He was at Trier for the famous meeting with the Emperor Frederick III. Another notable who must have cut a dashing figure on that occasion was Olivier de La Marche, in his crimson-violet satin and crimson pourpoints.53 La Marche had a very close association with Margaret from the day of her marriage right up to her death.54 His Memoires provide a valuable but tantalising source for the period. He was interminably long-winded on ceremonials and elusively brief on the subject of the Duchess herself, but the ceremonials were his very raison d’être. Coming from a minor family in Franche Comté he had risen rapidly in the service of Duke Philip to become an army captain and a useful diplomat. In 1477 his close association with Duke Charles nearly cost him his life but he received the protection of Margaret who took him with her when she left Ghent. At her dower town of Malines he became the master of her household and she later passed him on to the service of the Archduke Philip. From his L’estat de la maison du duc Charles de Bourgogne we have a very comprehensive idea of the elaborate household within which Margaret had to function.
The ducal household aimed to reflect a perfect and heavenly order dedicated to the service of God in heaven and to his servant, the Duke. All the ceremonial and the hierarchy reflected this divinity, which gave meaning and importance to every act of court life and regulated the movement of everyone from the great lords to the least important kitchen boy. No one from the court of Louis XIV would have felt out of his depth in the finely organised liturgies of the Burgundian court. On his accession Charles had initiated a total reorganisation of his father’s household bringing in many of his own men. He struck a much more severe note, gone were the ‘dissolute frivolities’55 of his father’s time such as the ‘Feast of Fools’. The emphasis was on a pious and business-like organisation, with close attention to matters of precedence and etiquette. In this Charles was following the customs of his mother. It was one of her ladies, Alienor de Poitiers, who had written the manual on etiquette known as Les Honneurs de la Cour,56 a book doubtless carefully studied by Margaret.
Each department of the ducal household was responsible for one of the functions of the court, and Margaret had a parallel household of her own, which mirrorred the ducal structure on a smaller scale. Foremost among the court institutions was the ducal chapel, supervised by the Bishop of Tournai and staffed by forty priests, chaplains and almoners who administered ducal charity. The chapel music came under the direction of some of the most distinguished musicians in Europe, such as the composer Anthoine Busnoys.57 All the choristers and players were carefully selected and a wide range of instruments was used including harps, organs, bagpipes and German horns. The chapel was magnificently equipped with plate, reliquaries, breviaries, music books and vestments.
Within the ducal household were the great departments of state. The Great Council was most important and was headed by the Chancellor Hugonet who had a large staff of lawyers, officials, secretaries, maîtres des requêtes, wardens and constables. They covered all the legal business of the state. Charles was proud of his position as a law-giver, and in peacetime he held public audience twice a week to deal with petitions. On these occasions the whole court was expected to attend. During the Duke’s absence the Chancellor or the Duchess herself might receive the petitions in his place.
The Council for War was another department and a most active one.58 The artillery and infantry were organised according to a series of ordinances issued by Charles personally. Margaret worked closely with this Council in 1476 when she was raising men for the army and she made her own ordinances for the troops which she raised to support Mary after 1477.
The Treasury was under the supervision of the Duke himself who kept a very close eye on the accounts, a practice followed by Margaret in her own dower affairs. The expenditure on the ducal household stood in the region of 400,000 livres a year with the military burden twice that sum.59 This was a huge amount, especially when we remember that a very wealthy baron such as Margaret’s father, Richard, Duke of York, had a gross annual income of about £8,000 sterling.60
A great part of the capital assets of the court was kept in the form of jewels, plate and other treasure. This was under the care of another department, the Garde des Joyaux. The Burgundian jewels were famous and the Swiss who captured the ducal baggage after Grandson, Murten and Nancy were
astounded by the excess.61 Apart from all the usual paraphernalia of a military campaign, tents, armour, cannons and banners, Charles had with him the regalia of the ducal chapel. This included a great reliquary of sculptured gold, inlaid with gems, adorned with statues and containing eighty separate relics. In addition there were three or four-hundredweight of silver, gold and silver-gilt as well as chests of tapestries, cloths of gold, silks and satins. The finest pieces, so eagerly carried back to the Swiss towns, were the great sword of state encrusted with diamonds, pearls and rubies, and one of Charles’ famous black velvet hats in which he had mounted one of the largest diamonds in the world.62
As well as these major offices of the court there was the household itself, run by a first chamberlain and a master of the household with five controllers to supervise the large staff.63 There were forty valets de chambres, numerous servers, cup bearers, tasters and vintners, six doctors, two surgeons, two spicers and sixteen squires in constant personal attendance upon the Duke. In addition were the kitchen staff who included twenty-five special cooks as well as all the scullery workers and the provisioners. Another chamberlain supervised the ducal stables where there were sixty squires and pages who served as messengers, as well as blacksmiths, farriers and stable hands. The Master of the Horse and the Chief Falconer were responsible for organising the hunting and were members of the great nobility such as Lord Ravenstein. They were also concerned with jousts and tournaments. Great occasions of state required the cooperation of many departments and the men who served at the head of one office often had a similar role in another, which must have ensured good joint operations. To complete the ducal household there was a bodyguard of a hundred and twenty-six squires and the same number of archers under a captain. There was also the important and splendid office of the heralds, headed by six Kings of Arms who wore crowns studded with sapphires. And a whole army of seamstresses, tailors, launderers and personal servants.
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