Amén to all of that! Hope max can further cripple them to avante his father
The Grand Duchy of the West - A Valois-Burgundian TL
- Thread starter BlueFlowwer
- Start date
The ottomans are gonna find several enemies waiting for them after this.
Even in a story where Maximilian and Mary never married, what better way for theirs sons to die than fighting side by side against the Ottomans in one of the most immortal battles in Europe since Agincourt?
You just know Charles the Bold is being the most insufferable grandpa/father in law in heaven right now. My oldest grandson killed the king of France and my youngest son in law killed the Sultan.
"How ironic, both claimants of the Roman Empire would die in battle, locked in blades not because they wished to see who would be Roman Emperor but to prove themselves as Roman Emperor's one by conquering and the other by defending."
Amazing chapter <3
Anne must really be devastated though, she becomes empress, watches her husband achieve a great victory then dies shortly after and now her son will go against her family ;-; (Ups and Downs)
Amazing chapter <3
Anne must really be devastated though, she becomes empress, watches her husband achieve a great victory then dies shortly after and now her son will go against her family ;-; (Ups and Downs)
I wish I wrote half as well and half as long as you buddy ;-;
I had to channel my inner Palpatine writing that LOL
Chapter 51 - Brabant, France and the Holy Roman Empire in 1527
Chapter 51 - Brabant, France and the Holy Roman Empire in 1527
The Prince-Bishop of Liége had been one of the main orchestrators of the marriage between the Grand Duke’s son and Princess Jeanne of France that took place in spring of 1527 in Mons. Less than two months after the wedding Adriaan Florensz Boeyens died in the Archiepiscopal Palace at the age of 68. His appointment to the post had taken place 27 years earlier, one of the Grand Duke’s methods of strengthening ducal influence in the bishoprics near Brabant. Utrecht had since long been annexed to the duchy and since becoming Grand Duke in 1517, Philippe had steadily increased Burgundian influence in the bishopric of Besancon, a free imperial city in theory, but at this point a part of the Valois-Burgundian realms.
Liége were not the only bishopric the Brabantians would strengthen their influences in from 1517 and onwards. Cologne, Trier and Munster were all in Philippe’s aims as the region suffered from a imperial vacuum. Frederick IV did not spend much time in Germany after his election, as Bohemia, Hungary and Austria were of more importance to him. Empress Anne herself only visited Germany once after her marriage to Frederick in 1493, as she spent much of her life in the Austrian lands and later in Prague and Buda after 1514. To the Germans, their king and queen were pretty much strangers, leaving their son Maximilian, the King of the Romans to pick up the slack in amongst the German princes. Maximilian were far more popular in Germany than his father, but his Spanish wife disliked the place and mostly resided in Vienna and Tyrol, where she controlled much of the court while the Empress divided her time between Vienna, Buda and Prague. The marriage between Maximilian and Eleanor of Castile had been a successful one in many ways, it had tied the great imperial Hapsburgs together with Spain and the success of the joint warfare against the Ottomans were a great diplomatic accomplishment for both parties, but on a personal level, it had failed. Maximilian and Eleanor had initially gotten on well, but their personalities did not clash well. While Maximilian did not hold much affection for his wife, he did trust her to run the imperial court in Vienna during the absence of the emperor and empress. Eleanor’s discomfort with Germany and staid personality did not interest her husband much and the also clashed regarding France. Maximilian was considering an alliance in the future, while the emperor remained mostly neutral and Eleanor was staunchly opposed to the idea. His position toward Brabant were not as positive, as he viewed the creeping influence over the imperial cities as an affront to the empire and as history has shown later, Maximilian did not forgive offenses easily. The queen of the Romans raised her children in Vienna during her husband’s absence and in fecundity Eleanor held great success. In 1525 Hedwig, Charles, Catherine and Ernest were all thriving in the nursery and Eleanor was expecting once more. Maximilian did not spend much time with his wife, other than sharing her bed for the purpose of duty, something that clearly worked well so far.
For the majority of 1524, Maximilian were busy with the Ottomans along with his father, especially in gathering forces in Germany and dealing with the Imperial Diet. The Diet voiced their concern to the king over Burgundy muscling in on the imperial cities, something that Maximilian took to heart. Due to the Ottomans invading, those issues had to be postponed, but he was also concerned over the spreading Protestantism in Germany that had slowly increased since 1517. The death of his father in Belgrade was a devastating one for Maximilian, as not only had the Empire lost their emperor, but Hungary and Bohemia had lost their king and Austria its archduke. As the king of the Romans, Maximilian would now be the undisputed successor to his father to both the imperial throne, and also to the other crowns. His reign in Germany would be secured fairly easily, but no man could be everywhere at once and during the 16th century, the imperial court would be where the emperor resided. The death of his younger brother did not bode well, as Archduke Frederick could have served as a viceroy in his stead. The now dowager empress had fallen besides herself in grief at the death of Frederick IV and Queen Eleanor mostly avoided politics, so neither could be counted on in this scenario. Of his siblings, only the youngest one, Margaret remained. Elizabeth had died in England six years ago, Frederick on the battlefield and while his twin Leopold still lived, the disabled archduke had spent the past twenty years in the castle of Tyrol under the care of his nurses, all but forgotten by most people. And given that Margaret would leave for Poland when she came of marrying age, he would soon be without her as well. As for his three aunts, they were all dead by 1526. Perhaps it’s not strange that Maximilian felt bereft of family at this time. But in 1527 his life would change in three separate ways. The first would be the imperial coronation in Aachen on the 16th of May, where the Reichskrone was placed on his head by the archbishop-elector Hermann of Wied. Eleanor was also crowned alongside her husband, one of the few times she visited Germany during her lifetime. As the daughter of the victorious King Juan and the daughter in law of the late emperor Frederick, the newly coronated empress were held in awe by many, as she was seen as the lynchpin of the alliance that had successfully vanquished the greatest threat to Christendom. Even the Germans seemed to take a liking to her, and Eleanor found herself facing another side of the land that were more to her liking than before.
“Perhaps I have been too harsh in my judgement of the Germans before. I have found that we share more things than I thought earlier and I shall enjoy their friendship further into the future.” Letter from Empress Eleanor to her father in 1527.
The coronation was attended by princes and lords from all over Germany and the nearby realms, such as Lorraine and Brabant and ambassadors from all kingdoms of the christian realms. While no royal Spaniard attended, as the whole Trastamara family were busy with the Ottomans and Corsairs, Juan sent a delegation of several lords and knights to partake in his stead, much to the comfort of Eleanor, whom delighted in the familiar faces of her homeland.
The presence of the Grand Duke of Brabant caused some tension with the German princes however. Philippe had come with a magnificent entourage comprised of several dozens of knights of the Golden Fleece, all attired in rich clothes and fine furs that dazzled the spectators. To some, the Burgundian extravagance caused confusion as the figure of the grand duke were mistaken for that of the emperor due to his finery, much to the dismay of Maximilian. Philippe did not solely attend to congratulate the new emperor, but also to bind their families closer together by marriage. His youngest daughter had turned ten years old and her father intended to make Beatrice the bride of the young archduke Charles, the heir to Maximilian. This marriage would increase the Brabantian influence in the empire and in the imperial cities that Philippe desired for himself. This brazen scheme alarmed the German princes, who demanded an audience with the emperor to address their concern. Maximilian had no love for his Burgundian cousin’s ambitions either, but if would be unwise to offend the richest ruler in Europe before they had other allies, other than Spain and Poland. To counteract the Brabantians, they needed additional support, but it had to be covert for the time being.
Jean de Montmorency was attending the imperial coronation as well, as part of the delegation representing France and what was obvious to the German princes was obvious to him as well. While King Charles IX was willing to give Champagne to the Grand Duke, the dauphin was not. Isabel of Castile was expecting once more and both she and Louis prayed ardently for a son this time. Should the Dauphine bear a prince this time, it would be all they needed to seize the throne with a clear blessing from the Lord. But in the meanwhile, Louis had an offering to the emperor, who received Montmorency in his audience chambers in secret to hear it out. Their common problem of greedy Dutch dukes proved to be grounds for a mutual agreement. In return for French military support against the Ottomans, they would jointly remove the Brabantians from the realms of Champagne, the Imperial cities and the duchy and palatinate of Burgundy. To solidify the alliance, Charles of Austria would wed Anne of France, the eldest daughter of Louis as well, rather than Beatrice. If the dauphine's child was a son, that boy would be betrothed to little Anne of Austria as well. This secret agreement between Maximilian and Louis would remain unknown to Philippe, who still planned to make his duchy into a mini-empire that would rival France and the Hapsburgs.
The third change came in July of 1527. As Maximilian returned to Hungary to be coronated once more, he met a familiar face at court; Erzsébet Báthory. Freshly widowed from her husband John Zápolya, a Hungarian magnate whom had meet his death in Belgrade along with the emperor, the granddaughter of Emperor Maximilian I now entered emperor Maximilian II’s life once again. Erzsébet had been a lady at Eleanor’s court for several years, but the King of the Romans had paid her only cursory attention, both due to her young age, the affairs of Germany and the impending Ottoman threat. Now at the age of 25 and childless, she returned to take a prominent place in court. John Zápolya had been succeeded in his estates by his younger brother, a man of unquestionable loyalty to the imperial family, and he brought many more of the nobles over to Maximilian as well. The victory at Belgrade had assured the imperial dominance over Hungary, as some anti-imperial nobles and opponents had perished in the fighting against the Ottomans. Erzsébet quickly became a confidant of Maximilian, as her witty and sharp personality suited him better than his staid and pious wife. From 1527 and onwards, the already distant relationship between Maximilian and Eleanor became even cooler, as Erzsébet began to steadily supplanted her in the emperor’s affections. No doubt her familiarity to Hungary and Bohemia aided him during his reign, while Eleanor for the most part remained in Vienna. While Maximilian would still visit his wife from time to time, mostly for the purpose of producing more imperial children, their marriage would only falter from here on out. Erzsébet won a great victory in December of 1528, as she bore Maximilian a son. The baby, who would deliberately be named for the great John Hunyadi of Hungary was not the first of Maximilian’s illegitimate children, but he was the first son of them. More concerning was the consideration the emperor gave to the infant, such as a household of his own, and rich fabrics for his clothes. To Empress Eleanor, the baby was of little concern, as her own imperial children demanded her fullest attention, including the toddling Anne and the newly born Eleanor. The Empress favoured a match with the Burgundians for her eldest son, as Beatrice was fairly close in age to Charles, while Maximilian had secretly betrothed him to little Anne of Valois. Erzsébet herself also favoured the french as an ally, as she had a great interest in the fashion and culture of the court. She also tried to acquire the friendship of the dauphine, but on that front, she had no success. Isabel of Castile was not the type of woman to disregard her family and as the empress’s niece, she held no love for the Hungarian homewrecker.
Isabel won her own great victory in the summer of 1528. On the 6th of June she birthed a son, much to the great cheer in the kingdom. The arrival of an heir to the crown prince signaled the end of Charles IX’s reign, as the favor of all in the kingdom now fell to the dauphin. The churching of Isabel in the city of Orléans would be an enormously grand occasion, and the start of the reign of Louis XII as well. The king attended the festivities, but his solemn manners on this great occasion, along with his slumped figure and ill-fitting clothes stood in stark contrast to the heroic figure of Louis, in the prime of his life and his beloved wife, bejeweled after having just delivered the prayed for heir to a kingdom long bereft of blessings. Charles’s behavior also caused further alarm, as he burst into tears several times without provocation and sported a absent expression when spoken too. Several days of feasts followed, where Louis and Isabel spent considerable time in discussions with the nobles, clerics and courtiers, while the king avoided nearly all company and often vanished from the festivities.
A fortnight after the churching, Louis took action. A company of armed lords, amongst them Francis, Duke of Angouleme, the Baron Montmorency and Jean d’Albret, all trusted companions and counsellors to the dauphin, entered the Chateau of Blois and seized the king himself and put him under house arrest. The were led by the dauphin himself, who secured his father’s courtiers by sending them straight to the dungeons. Immediately afterwards he called for the estates generals to be gathered at Orléans as soon as possible. While the speed of the coup had been swift, the legitimacy of his reign needed to be indisputable as well. Thanks to the networking done by Isabel, he could count on the Bourbons, the Angouleme’s and the Albrets, while the knights and the peasants would certainly gather behind him, as well as the church. The madness of Charles IX had spread like wildfire from Bayeux to Languedoc and a new reign would almost certainly be welcome by all. On the 15th of July the dauphin meets with the estates general, where several things would make clear. Holding a signed letter from the king, Louis declared himself as “regent of the Kingdom” as his father had been incapacitated by madness, thus unable to govern. Testimony from several members of the court, lords, and physicians also proved that Charles was unstable and that in these trying times, a steadier hand was required. The estates were also reminded of those terrible years between 1507 and 1510, when the whole kingdom was being ravaged by Brabant, Lorraine and Spain while in the midst of a civil war. Champagne being given away had also caused intense outrage and the estates were only too happy to demand that the region would be returned to French control, citing it as an unlawful giving of crown lands. Louis also firmly intended to throw the English out of France for good, as the massacre at Calais was painfully fresh in the people’s memories. It was at this point that Louis also revealed that Emperor Maximilian had joined the French cause against Burgundy, further strengthening his stance. Isabel played her part magnificently, as she entered the chamber where the estates was gathered, dressed in ivory silk and cloth of gold, holding her infant son in her arms. With her entourage of ladies behind her, the dauphine knelt before her husband, before facing the estates. Holding the baby before her, she began an passionate speech:
“My lords, I come before you, not as a dauphine, but as a humble mother and a wife! Here is the prince I have delivered to France and you all know what his birthright are, now being stolen away by ravaging wolves. Who amongst you will raise your sword to defend France as she is being set on by evil demons? Christendom has seen the greatest victory against the infidels in centuries just as now and France has been shamed as cowards due to us hiding in our land. Who amongst you will defend France I ask!”
The birth of a son to the Prince-Regent proved to be the start of France becoming one of the most domineering kingdoms in Europe from 1530 and the declaration that would be sent to the Burgundian Dukes regarding the ownership of Champagne was the match that lit the fuse of the so called La Guerre de la Colére or The War of the Wrath that would last for half a decade between France and the Grand Duchy of Brabant. The conflict would also involve other participants such as the Holy Roman Empire, Lorraine, England, Brittany, Anjou and Milan.
The Champagne Problem – The Last Duke of Burgundy by Madeleine de Baumé.
Author's Note: I got out of my creative slump, so here we have the next chapter. Thank you to @Parma and @Liminia1 for the plotbunnies regarding Champagne and the HRE cities, I needed some sort of disaster since I don't have the italian wars here.
The Prince-Bishop of Liége had been one of the main orchestrators of the marriage between the Grand Duke’s son and Princess Jeanne of France that took place in spring of 1527 in Mons. Less than two months after the wedding Adriaan Florensz Boeyens died in the Archiepiscopal Palace at the age of 68. His appointment to the post had taken place 27 years earlier, one of the Grand Duke’s methods of strengthening ducal influence in the bishoprics near Brabant. Utrecht had since long been annexed to the duchy and since becoming Grand Duke in 1517, Philippe had steadily increased Burgundian influence in the bishopric of Besancon, a free imperial city in theory, but at this point a part of the Valois-Burgundian realms.
Liége were not the only bishopric the Brabantians would strengthen their influences in from 1517 and onwards. Cologne, Trier and Munster were all in Philippe’s aims as the region suffered from a imperial vacuum. Frederick IV did not spend much time in Germany after his election, as Bohemia, Hungary and Austria were of more importance to him. Empress Anne herself only visited Germany once after her marriage to Frederick in 1493, as she spent much of her life in the Austrian lands and later in Prague and Buda after 1514. To the Germans, their king and queen were pretty much strangers, leaving their son Maximilian, the King of the Romans to pick up the slack in amongst the German princes. Maximilian were far more popular in Germany than his father, but his Spanish wife disliked the place and mostly resided in Vienna and Tyrol, where she controlled much of the court while the Empress divided her time between Vienna, Buda and Prague. The marriage between Maximilian and Eleanor of Castile had been a successful one in many ways, it had tied the great imperial Hapsburgs together with Spain and the success of the joint warfare against the Ottomans were a great diplomatic accomplishment for both parties, but on a personal level, it had failed. Maximilian and Eleanor had initially gotten on well, but their personalities did not clash well. While Maximilian did not hold much affection for his wife, he did trust her to run the imperial court in Vienna during the absence of the emperor and empress. Eleanor’s discomfort with Germany and staid personality did not interest her husband much and the also clashed regarding France. Maximilian was considering an alliance in the future, while the emperor remained mostly neutral and Eleanor was staunchly opposed to the idea. His position toward Brabant were not as positive, as he viewed the creeping influence over the imperial cities as an affront to the empire and as history has shown later, Maximilian did not forgive offenses easily. The queen of the Romans raised her children in Vienna during her husband’s absence and in fecundity Eleanor held great success. In 1525 Hedwig, Charles, Catherine and Ernest were all thriving in the nursery and Eleanor was expecting once more. Maximilian did not spend much time with his wife, other than sharing her bed for the purpose of duty, something that clearly worked well so far.
For the majority of 1524, Maximilian were busy with the Ottomans along with his father, especially in gathering forces in Germany and dealing with the Imperial Diet. The Diet voiced their concern to the king over Burgundy muscling in on the imperial cities, something that Maximilian took to heart. Due to the Ottomans invading, those issues had to be postponed, but he was also concerned over the spreading Protestantism in Germany that had slowly increased since 1517. The death of his father in Belgrade was a devastating one for Maximilian, as not only had the Empire lost their emperor, but Hungary and Bohemia had lost their king and Austria its archduke. As the king of the Romans, Maximilian would now be the undisputed successor to his father to both the imperial throne, and also to the other crowns. His reign in Germany would be secured fairly easily, but no man could be everywhere at once and during the 16th century, the imperial court would be where the emperor resided. The death of his younger brother did not bode well, as Archduke Frederick could have served as a viceroy in his stead. The now dowager empress had fallen besides herself in grief at the death of Frederick IV and Queen Eleanor mostly avoided politics, so neither could be counted on in this scenario. Of his siblings, only the youngest one, Margaret remained. Elizabeth had died in England six years ago, Frederick on the battlefield and while his twin Leopold still lived, the disabled archduke had spent the past twenty years in the castle of Tyrol under the care of his nurses, all but forgotten by most people. And given that Margaret would leave for Poland when she came of marrying age, he would soon be without her as well. As for his three aunts, they were all dead by 1526. Perhaps it’s not strange that Maximilian felt bereft of family at this time. But in 1527 his life would change in three separate ways. The first would be the imperial coronation in Aachen on the 16th of May, where the Reichskrone was placed on his head by the archbishop-elector Hermann of Wied. Eleanor was also crowned alongside her husband, one of the few times she visited Germany during her lifetime. As the daughter of the victorious King Juan and the daughter in law of the late emperor Frederick, the newly coronated empress were held in awe by many, as she was seen as the lynchpin of the alliance that had successfully vanquished the greatest threat to Christendom. Even the Germans seemed to take a liking to her, and Eleanor found herself facing another side of the land that were more to her liking than before.
“Perhaps I have been too harsh in my judgement of the Germans before. I have found that we share more things than I thought earlier and I shall enjoy their friendship further into the future.” Letter from Empress Eleanor to her father in 1527.
The coronation was attended by princes and lords from all over Germany and the nearby realms, such as Lorraine and Brabant and ambassadors from all kingdoms of the christian realms. While no royal Spaniard attended, as the whole Trastamara family were busy with the Ottomans and Corsairs, Juan sent a delegation of several lords and knights to partake in his stead, much to the comfort of Eleanor, whom delighted in the familiar faces of her homeland.
The presence of the Grand Duke of Brabant caused some tension with the German princes however. Philippe had come with a magnificent entourage comprised of several dozens of knights of the Golden Fleece, all attired in rich clothes and fine furs that dazzled the spectators. To some, the Burgundian extravagance caused confusion as the figure of the grand duke were mistaken for that of the emperor due to his finery, much to the dismay of Maximilian. Philippe did not solely attend to congratulate the new emperor, but also to bind their families closer together by marriage. His youngest daughter had turned ten years old and her father intended to make Beatrice the bride of the young archduke Charles, the heir to Maximilian. This marriage would increase the Brabantian influence in the empire and in the imperial cities that Philippe desired for himself. This brazen scheme alarmed the German princes, who demanded an audience with the emperor to address their concern. Maximilian had no love for his Burgundian cousin’s ambitions either, but if would be unwise to offend the richest ruler in Europe before they had other allies, other than Spain and Poland. To counteract the Brabantians, they needed additional support, but it had to be covert for the time being.
Jean de Montmorency was attending the imperial coronation as well, as part of the delegation representing France and what was obvious to the German princes was obvious to him as well. While King Charles IX was willing to give Champagne to the Grand Duke, the dauphin was not. Isabel of Castile was expecting once more and both she and Louis prayed ardently for a son this time. Should the Dauphine bear a prince this time, it would be all they needed to seize the throne with a clear blessing from the Lord. But in the meanwhile, Louis had an offering to the emperor, who received Montmorency in his audience chambers in secret to hear it out. Their common problem of greedy Dutch dukes proved to be grounds for a mutual agreement. In return for French military support against the Ottomans, they would jointly remove the Brabantians from the realms of Champagne, the Imperial cities and the duchy and palatinate of Burgundy. To solidify the alliance, Charles of Austria would wed Anne of France, the eldest daughter of Louis as well, rather than Beatrice. If the dauphine's child was a son, that boy would be betrothed to little Anne of Austria as well. This secret agreement between Maximilian and Louis would remain unknown to Philippe, who still planned to make his duchy into a mini-empire that would rival France and the Hapsburgs.
The third change came in July of 1527. As Maximilian returned to Hungary to be coronated once more, he met a familiar face at court; Erzsébet Báthory. Freshly widowed from her husband John Zápolya, a Hungarian magnate whom had meet his death in Belgrade along with the emperor, the granddaughter of Emperor Maximilian I now entered emperor Maximilian II’s life once again. Erzsébet had been a lady at Eleanor’s court for several years, but the King of the Romans had paid her only cursory attention, both due to her young age, the affairs of Germany and the impending Ottoman threat. Now at the age of 25 and childless, she returned to take a prominent place in court. John Zápolya had been succeeded in his estates by his younger brother, a man of unquestionable loyalty to the imperial family, and he brought many more of the nobles over to Maximilian as well. The victory at Belgrade had assured the imperial dominance over Hungary, as some anti-imperial nobles and opponents had perished in the fighting against the Ottomans. Erzsébet quickly became a confidant of Maximilian, as her witty and sharp personality suited him better than his staid and pious wife. From 1527 and onwards, the already distant relationship between Maximilian and Eleanor became even cooler, as Erzsébet began to steadily supplanted her in the emperor’s affections. No doubt her familiarity to Hungary and Bohemia aided him during his reign, while Eleanor for the most part remained in Vienna. While Maximilian would still visit his wife from time to time, mostly for the purpose of producing more imperial children, their marriage would only falter from here on out. Erzsébet won a great victory in December of 1528, as she bore Maximilian a son. The baby, who would deliberately be named for the great John Hunyadi of Hungary was not the first of Maximilian’s illegitimate children, but he was the first son of them. More concerning was the consideration the emperor gave to the infant, such as a household of his own, and rich fabrics for his clothes. To Empress Eleanor, the baby was of little concern, as her own imperial children demanded her fullest attention, including the toddling Anne and the newly born Eleanor. The Empress favoured a match with the Burgundians for her eldest son, as Beatrice was fairly close in age to Charles, while Maximilian had secretly betrothed him to little Anne of Valois. Erzsébet herself also favoured the french as an ally, as she had a great interest in the fashion and culture of the court. She also tried to acquire the friendship of the dauphine, but on that front, she had no success. Isabel of Castile was not the type of woman to disregard her family and as the empress’s niece, she held no love for the Hungarian homewrecker.
Isabel won her own great victory in the summer of 1528. On the 6th of June she birthed a son, much to the great cheer in the kingdom. The arrival of an heir to the crown prince signaled the end of Charles IX’s reign, as the favor of all in the kingdom now fell to the dauphin. The churching of Isabel in the city of Orléans would be an enormously grand occasion, and the start of the reign of Louis XII as well. The king attended the festivities, but his solemn manners on this great occasion, along with his slumped figure and ill-fitting clothes stood in stark contrast to the heroic figure of Louis, in the prime of his life and his beloved wife, bejeweled after having just delivered the prayed for heir to a kingdom long bereft of blessings. Charles’s behavior also caused further alarm, as he burst into tears several times without provocation and sported a absent expression when spoken too. Several days of feasts followed, where Louis and Isabel spent considerable time in discussions with the nobles, clerics and courtiers, while the king avoided nearly all company and often vanished from the festivities.
A fortnight after the churching, Louis took action. A company of armed lords, amongst them Francis, Duke of Angouleme, the Baron Montmorency and Jean d’Albret, all trusted companions and counsellors to the dauphin, entered the Chateau of Blois and seized the king himself and put him under house arrest. The were led by the dauphin himself, who secured his father’s courtiers by sending them straight to the dungeons. Immediately afterwards he called for the estates generals to be gathered at Orléans as soon as possible. While the speed of the coup had been swift, the legitimacy of his reign needed to be indisputable as well. Thanks to the networking done by Isabel, he could count on the Bourbons, the Angouleme’s and the Albrets, while the knights and the peasants would certainly gather behind him, as well as the church. The madness of Charles IX had spread like wildfire from Bayeux to Languedoc and a new reign would almost certainly be welcome by all. On the 15th of July the dauphin meets with the estates general, where several things would make clear. Holding a signed letter from the king, Louis declared himself as “regent of the Kingdom” as his father had been incapacitated by madness, thus unable to govern. Testimony from several members of the court, lords, and physicians also proved that Charles was unstable and that in these trying times, a steadier hand was required. The estates were also reminded of those terrible years between 1507 and 1510, when the whole kingdom was being ravaged by Brabant, Lorraine and Spain while in the midst of a civil war. Champagne being given away had also caused intense outrage and the estates were only too happy to demand that the region would be returned to French control, citing it as an unlawful giving of crown lands. Louis also firmly intended to throw the English out of France for good, as the massacre at Calais was painfully fresh in the people’s memories. It was at this point that Louis also revealed that Emperor Maximilian had joined the French cause against Burgundy, further strengthening his stance. Isabel played her part magnificently, as she entered the chamber where the estates was gathered, dressed in ivory silk and cloth of gold, holding her infant son in her arms. With her entourage of ladies behind her, the dauphine knelt before her husband, before facing the estates. Holding the baby before her, she began an passionate speech:
“My lords, I come before you, not as a dauphine, but as a humble mother and a wife! Here is the prince I have delivered to France and you all know what his birthright are, now being stolen away by ravaging wolves. Who amongst you will raise your sword to defend France as she is being set on by evil demons? Christendom has seen the greatest victory against the infidels in centuries just as now and France has been shamed as cowards due to us hiding in our land. Who amongst you will defend France I ask!”
The birth of a son to the Prince-Regent proved to be the start of France becoming one of the most domineering kingdoms in Europe from 1530 and the declaration that would be sent to the Burgundian Dukes regarding the ownership of Champagne was the match that lit the fuse of the so called La Guerre de la Colére or The War of the Wrath that would last for half a decade between France and the Grand Duchy of Brabant. The conflict would also involve other participants such as the Holy Roman Empire, Lorraine, England, Brittany, Anjou and Milan.
The Champagne Problem – The Last Duke of Burgundy by Madeleine de Baumé.
Author's Note: I got out of my creative slump, so here we have the next chapter. Thank you to @Parma and @Liminia1 for the plotbunnies regarding Champagne and the HRE cities, I needed some sort of disaster since I don't have the italian wars here.
"An amateur historian once told me, that Burgundy should be wary of rulers with Spanish wives as they tended to dislike Burgundy. I laughed at their comment, while true at face value it simplifies the situation and politics given at the time. Burgundy was always walking a tightrope between France and the Holy Roman Empire, it seems with the marriage of Jean and Jeanne, they slipped and fell off that tightrope for the time. Also, just to prove them wrong, Eleanor preferred Burgundy over France so the Spanish wife thing has nothing to do with politics."
The french are going on the warpath here! And thank you!
Would it be a spoiler that perhaps there might be a spanish duchess in the future for Brabant?
Erzsébet Báthory, oh boy. Would be interesting if later in life she has a castle in the Austrian Alps, maybe in Styria 