Among the classical works in the Tudor royal collection was the ‘Des Faiz du Grant Alexandre’, a translation from Quintus Curtius, begun for Charles and completed for Margaret, by Vasco da Lucena who had come to Burgundy in the service of Duchess Isabelle.77 After Isabelle’s death, he joined Margaret’s staff as a chamberlain. This book may have been one of the ‘translations worthy of remembrance’ which Margaret commissioned from him. The Tudor arms at the end of the book conceal the identity of the original English recipient, but on the same page are the dedications from Mary and Margaret: ‘forget not har that ys on of your treu frendes Margarete of Yorke’ and ‘(p)renez moyajames pour vostre bonne amie Marie de Bourgogne’. Given the choice of book and the style of these inscriptions, it may be that the book was sent to Edward in 1477 when both Margaret and her stepdaughter were appealing for help. The ‘Deeds of Alexander’ may even have been despatched in the hope of encouraging the reluctant Edward into some military prowess on their behalf.78
Lord Hastings was also very responsive to the influences of the Burgundian court.79 He bought books from the studio of Margaret’s favourite miniaturist, the Master of Mary of Burgundy, and his brother-in-law Sir John Donne commissioned the triptych by Memlinc which now hangs in the National Gallery. Hastings and Lord Rivers were also closely involved with another of Margaret’s ventures. Although in many ways the Dowager seems to have been rather old-fashioned, as far as William Caxton was concerned she was at the forefront of revolutionary change. Her patronage resulted in the printing at Bruges of the first book in English and ultimately the introduction of printing in England.80
Caxton entered Margaret’s service soon after her marriage.81 She probably met him for the first time on her wedding day. He had been the Dean of the Merchant Adventurers at Bruges since 1462 and in this capacity he had the honour of leading the English merchants in the procession. He was at the ducal court in 1470 when John Russel arrived to offer the Order of the Garter to Charles (he would later publish Russel’s oration). By March 1471 he had left his appointment with the Merchant Adventurers and entered the Duchess’ service, receiving a yearly fee and other benefits from her hands. He probably served Margaret as a commercial and financial adviser. She received her first trading licences from Edward in 1472 and she took full advantage of her privileges to profit from her trade with England. There was nothing unusual in this. Isabelle had also traded with the English Merchant Adventurers. Margaret used various agents to manage her affairs in England and would have found the advice of an experienced merchant like Caxton very useful indeed.
However, Caxton had ambitions to become more than a mere commercial adviser and he made a shrewd move to obtain Margaret’s patronage when he told her about his translation of Lefevre’s ‘Recueil des Histoires de Troie’ (Collection of the stories of Troy) which he began in 1469. He had chosen well. As he says, ‘this booke was newe and late maad and drawen in to frenshe … And neuer had seen hit in oure englisshe tonge.’82 There was a copy of the work in the ducal library. The myths of Troy had been used to symbolise Margaret’s marriage, from her sailing in the ‘New Ellen’ to the tapestries which decorated the banqueting hall. Apart from this felicitous choice, Caxton presented his case very diplomatically to the Duchess, appealing to her in terms which were sure to win her interest and sympathy. He put this most succinctly in the prologue he wrote for the edition of 1476:
whan I remembyrd myself of my symplenes and vnperfightnes that I had in bothe langages that is to wete in frenshe and in englisshe for in france I was neuer and was born and lerned myn englisshe in kente in the weeld where I doubte not is spoken as brode and rude englisshe as is in ony place of englond.83
After four years at the Burgundian court Margaret could pride herself on her French. Her English was also that of the court and certainly not of the Kentish Weald. Caxton’s appeal for help with the translation was surely irresistible to her energetic character. In spite of his linguistic difficulties, Caxton had already completed five or six quires when he took his work to the Duchess, but he explained that he had become discouraged in his task and had abandoned it. As soon as she heard about the translation, Margaret ordered him to bring it for her to read. And:
whan she had seen hem anone she fonde a defaute in myn englissh whiche sche comanded me to amende and more ouer commanded me straytli to contynue and make an ende of the resydue than not translated. whos dredefull commandement y durste in no wyse disobey because y am a seruant vnto her sayde grace and resseiue of her yerly ffee and other many goode and great benefetes and also hope many moo to resseyue of hir hyenes but forthwyth wente and labouryde in the sayde translacion aftyr my symple and pour connyng also nigh as y can folouyng myn auctor mekeli beseching the bounteuous hynenes of my said lady that of her benyuolence liste to accepte and take in gree this symple and rude werke here folowyng. and yf ther be ony thyng wreton or sayd to her playsir. I shall thynke my labour well employed and where ther is defawte. yt she arette hyt to ye symplenes of my connyng whiche is ful small in this behalue and requyre and praye alle them that shall rede this sayd werke to correcte hyt and to hold me excusid of the rude and symple translacion.84
Margaret’s interest in Caxton did not end with her corrections to his text and her command that he should finish his translation. She also gave him permission to travel and by the late summer of 1471 he was in Cologne. He stayed there for about two years, returning to Bruges in 1473. He may have been involved with the lengthy negotiations which led up to the signing of the treaty of Utrecht a year later. This treaty settled some of the problems troubling trade and commerce between the Hanseatic League and its trading partners, Burgundy and England. He took advantage of his stay in Cologne to become acquainted with the technology of the new movable-type printing presses which had been in use there since 1465 and was already slowly spreading into France and the Low Countries. (The first printing press in the Low Countries was set up by Thierry Martens at Alost in 1472 but he had learned his craft in Venice, not Germany).
On his return to the Low Countries, Caxton began to establish himself in the printing business. His first partnership involved Jan Veldener of Louvain which, being a university city, was at the forefront of these developments. By 1475 however, Caxton was back at Bruges and he completed his translation of the third book of the ‘Recueil des Histoires de Troie’ as he wrote, ‘I haue delibered in my self for the contemplacion of my sayd redoubtid lady to take this laboure in hand as ye suffrance and helpe of almyghty god.’85
Finding that there was a good demand for an English version of the Trojan legends he decided to make a printed edition and turned to Collard Mansion who had recently established a press at Bruges. In his youth Collard had been employed in the ducal library and he was, by this date, under the patronage of Louis of Gruuthuyse, who was so friendly with his bookmaker that he even stood as godfather to one of Collard’s children.86
Margaret, Caxton and Collard Mansion were thus jointly responsible for the production of the first book ever to be printed in English, which Caxton entitled, ‘The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye’. It was followed by a printed edition in French, so popular were these old stories. Later in the same year, Caxton produced his second English book, ‘The Playe and Game of Chess’ dedicated to Margaret’s brother the Duke of Clarence. This was printed in preparation for Caxton’s move to London and it is likely that Margaret encouraged him to seek her brother’s patronage. All Caxton’s early editions were translations of books which were very familiar to Margaret, including ‘Les Faiz de Jason’ and ‘Meditacions sur les sept psaulms penitentiaux’.
In 1476 Caxton left Bruges for London. He was unlucky in his choice of patrons for Clarence’s arrest early in 1477 removed the Duke from the scene. Margaret was soon much too preoccupied with the succession crisis in Burgundy to be of any further assistance. However, Caxton found a new patron in Lord Rivers, who translated Christine de Pisan’s ‘Dictes des Philiosophes’ (‘Sayings of the Philiosophers’) himself
and had it printed.87 Through the patronage of Rivers, who was the governor of Edward’s eldest son, Caxton was enabled to present his ‘History of Jason’ to the young Prince. In 1479 he received a grant of £20 from the King.
By the time Margaret visited England in 1480, her old protégé was well established.88 Caxton had printed three translations for Lord Rivers and made several other editions such as The Canterbury Tales. He had certainly not forgotten his ‘right high and noble’ patroness the Duchess of Burgundy, and in the prologue to the History of Jason he reminded his readers of his debt to her. The frontispiece of the edition of The Recuyell of the Histories of Troy, now in the Huntington Library in California, which belonged to Queen Elizabeth Woodville, commemorates his relationship with the Duchess. The illustration shows Margaret in her chamber attended by five ladies, two gentlemen and two pages. Above the chair of state at the back of the room are carved the initials ‘C’ and ‘M’ and beside her on the floor a little monkey mimics her gestures of acceptance as she receives the book from Caxton. The printer continued to look hopefully towards the House of York for his patrons and he later dedicated a volume on the orders of chivalry to King Richard III. After the accession of Henry VII he succeeded in attracting the patronage of Lady Margaret Beaufort.
There is extensive evidence of Margaret’s patronage in literary and religious matters. Unfortunately fewer records have survived recording her patronage of the other arts. The houses she had built at Mons, Binche and Malines have been either destroyed or rebuilt, and we know only that she employed the best architects available including some from the famous family of Keldermans. The survival of three possible portraits in addition to the probable representation of her in the ‘Deposition’ at the J. Paul Getty Museum might indicate an active interest in painting. It would be difficult to imagine that such a discriminating bibliophile would not have found an equal delight in the marvels of Burgundian art. The various artifacts associated with her, such as the Aachen coronet and the St Ursmer reliquary, illustrate her taste in the fine arts. Her interest in tapestries, one of the greatest manufactures of Flanders and Brabant, is shown by the several purchases she made, both at the sale of the Hugonet property in 1478 and three years earlier when she gave tapestries to her brother Edward. As an active patron of the Church and the arts, Margaret was of course fulfilling her responsibilities as the Duchess and Dowager of Burgundy. She was sensible of her high position and maintained her estate with rectitude and grandeur. In her library, at least, she showed a deeper interest and revealed more of her personality.
During her last years she may have had more time for her private interests since she was less involved in affairs of state. After the deaths of Don Juan in October 1497 and of the eldest Spanish Princess Isabella in 1500, Philip the Fair became, through his wife Joanna, heir to the Spanish throne. It was therefore necessary for the Archduke and his wife to travel to Spain, where their inheritance would be acknowledged by the Cortes of Castile and Aragon.89 Their departure was long delayed by both domestic and diplomatic events. They had originally planned to leave after the presentation of Charles to the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1501, but Joanna became pregnant again and they postponed their journey until after the birth of their third child in July of that year.
Foreign affairs also caused delays. Philip needed to safeguard his duchy during his absence, and he therefore renewed his alliances and treaties with both England and France. The Intercursus Magnus had not settled all the trading problems which arose between England and the Low Countries. Negotiations to settle disputes over import duties and the location of the English staple continued throughout the late 1490s. In the spring of 1500 Henry VII and his court crossed the Channel to escape a particularly severe outbreak of plague in London.90 The Archduke went down to Calais to meet the English King and relations between England and Burgundy improved. A year later a marriage treaty was negotiated between the ducal heir Charles and Princess Claude of France.91 Having secured his frontiers and renewed his alliances, Philip finally prepared for his departure and, after seeing his sister, Margaret of Austria, off on her journey to Savoy in October, he and Joanna left for Spain a month later.
The three infants, Eleanor, Charles and Isabella were left at Malines under the eye of the Dowager. A household of ninety-three people had been appointed to look after the children during their parents’ absence, and at the head of the household was one of Margaret’s men, Henri of Witthem, the Lord of Beersel.92 Margaret however, spent much of the following two years out of Malines visiting her other properties.93 After the departure of the ducal party for France, she retired to Binche, returning to Malines only in time for the Christmas festivities. She was back at Binche in the summer of 1502. During August she made a progress to Oudenaarde and Dendermonde and she returned again to Binche for September and December of that year.
Early in 1503 Maximilian came to the Low Countries, visiting his grandchildren at Malines and trying in vain to persuade the Estates to support his expedition against Guelders.94 Margaret went back to Malines to greet Maximilian and to honour the various celebrations which had been organised for the Emperor’s entertainment. This was her last meeting with her step-son-in-law, and it was also the last time that she would make the journey from Binche to Malines. After this, apart from a brief visit to the abbey-castle of Ter Elst at Duffel in July, the Dowager passed her last months at Malines. She was by now perhaps too ill to travel.
The year 1503 was very harsh. The winter had been extremely cold and when the summer came it was exceptionally hot. Margaret took the ducal children with her when she went to Ter Elst so that they too could enjoy the countryside, away from the heat and dust of the town. Ter Elst was situated midway between Malines and Lier and this made it a convenient retreat for her during her last years.95 It had been a twelfth century castle and belonged to the Abbey of Tongerloo. Although the Archduke and the corporation of Malines had intervened on the Dowager’s behalf, the Prior resolutely refused to allow her to acquire the castle for herself. However, he was very willing to accept the Dowager and her court as his guests. Margaret spent the summer there and was back in Malines by the end of September.
Philip finally returned to the Low Countries in November 1503 after an absence of exactly two years. He had set off on his return journey in December 1502 leaving the Archduchess behind in Spain to recover from the birth of her second son Ferdinand. His return had been delayed by a series of visits to France, Savoy and Austria and by an outbreak of an illness. He had been expected for some time and all Malines celebrated his arrival with a series of banquets, jousts and festivities.
It was in the midst of all these festivities that Margaret suddenly died. She had been ill for some time. Her visit to Ter Elst in July had been perhaps a vain hope that the peace and the country air would revive her flagging spirits. On her return to Malines her condition deteriorated and on 21 October she signed her Will.96 She lived on for another month, perhaps clinging to life until she was certain that Philip was safely back in the duchy. Only then could she relax that vigilance she had exerted unstintingly over the concerns of the ducal family for thirty-five years.
Her death on 23 November cut short all the welcoming celebrations. Both the city and the court were plunged into deep mourning. The bells of St Rombout’s tolled for ten days at a cost of 30 sous and Philip had a commemorative medal struck in her honour.97 One side displayed Margaret’s arms surrounded by words dedicating her to the Lord God of Judgement:
DILIGETE JUSTICIA(M) QUI JUDICAT(IS) TERR(AM)
The other side depicted the figure of death, accompanied by two serpents trampling down the pretty marguerites, which had been used as her emblem on her portraits and on the margins of her books, and was inscribed:
MEMORARE NOVISSIMA TUA ANO DNI 1503
As the news of her death travelled across the Low Countries her other dower towns grieved as well. The Hôtel de la Salle at Binche was draped in black and was to spend ‘long days in mourning�
�.98
Margaret was buried in the church of the monastery of the Recollects at Malines which she had so generously supported. Her tomb and memorial have been destroyed but a description of her alabaster memorial was recorded by a scholar in the mid-sixteenth century.99 He refers to two statues of the Dowager, in the first she was kneeling beside her patron saint St Margaret, and in the second she was laid out in her shroud with a crown at her head and three friars of the Recollects watching over her. On the inscription itself, her arms, the arms of England and Burgundy surmounted by a crown, were supported by an angel. In death, as in life, Margaret was rigorously upholding her own and her family’s honour. The epitaph, in Latin, announced that:
Beneath the threshold of the doors of the choir the most illustrious princess, the Lady Margaret of England, Duchess of Burgundy, with pious humility, ordered her body to be buried. Sister of their serene highnesses Edward and Richard, Kings of England, wife of the late illustrious Charles, Duke of Burgundy and of Brabant, Count of Flanders and Artois etc. and Lord of Malines etc. a marvellous and devoted Patroness of Justice, of Religion and of Reform in her dower town of Malines, the twenty-third day of November in the year of our Lord 1503. Pray for her.
All traces of this memorial and of her tomb vanished in the sixteenth century not long after this record was made. There were plenty of occasions in that century when the churches of Malines were pillaged and ransacked. In 1566 local iconoclasts destroyed pictures, statues and stained glass. In 1572 the Spanish soldiery looted the whole city and in 1590 English mercenaries fighting under Colonel Norris and Oliver van der Tympel, the Governor of Brussels, mutinied and sacked the city and its churches. It was fortunate for Margaret that she did not have to live through the conflicts of the Reformation. Her niece and namesake Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, the daughter of Clarence, was brutally murdered by Henry VIII’s axe-men at the age of sixty-nine and the shrine of St Thomas à Becket, to which Margaret had made her pilgrimages, was destroyed and plundered by the King’s collectors. The religious world to which Margaret devoted so much of her attention was swept away in her native land. Its ultimate survival in Flanders and Brabant owed much to the geography of the Habsburg possessions but also, in no small way, to the patient reform which had made the church, convents and monasteries a well respected and useful part of the community there. Margaret’s contribution to this reform had been considerable.
Margaret of York: The Diabolical Duchess Page 30