Between Two Kings (32 page)

At the same time, Ferdinand II of Aragon refused to hand over control of Naples in favor of France on the account of a long-standing claim of the Valois family to the land. Ferdinand turned to military force, thus starting the Franco-Italian wars, which resulted in King Charles VIII’s defeat. At that time the Holy Roman Empire was governed by Emperor Maximilian I von Habsburg and the conflict fueled the old Habsburg-Valois rivalry.

In the next few years, the Valois were frightened that the growing Habsburg Empire would pose a threat to France and vice versa, so each party tried to stop the other from gaining too much power and too quickly. Both the Valois and the Habsburgs were struggling for the expansion of their own power and the territories of their countries. When Emperor Charles V gained control of the throne of Spain after Ferdinand I of Aragon’s death in 1516, he managed to make the Italian Republics give their freedoms and provide dominance under the Holy Roman Empire.

The situation became much more complicated after the Battle of Pavia, in which the French were ultimately dismayed. King François I of France had to relinquish his claims to all of the Italian republics and gave up his Burgundian inheritance. The result was a significant blow to the French Empire and the moral of the French people. Now, King François had several strategic objectives in Italy. He wanted to return to France what was lost after the disastrous Battle of Pavia; mainly the Burgundian inheritance of France and the control in the republics of Milan and the Duchy of Savoy. Turin and Savoy had already been captured by the French in 1536, and currently the main task of the French army was to expel the Spaniards from Milan and the small part of Savoy still occupied by the Imperial troops.

King François even admitted that he could have forgotten about his dream to recapture Milan if only the emperor had lost his control over the Duchy of Milan. It was the great obligation for King François to return what he had lost to the French people. Moreover, he also wanted to take his revenge on the emperor who had humiliated the King of France during François’ captivity in Spain.

More than two months had passed since King François arrived in Piedmont. During that time the King of France had actively discussed the current location of the French and Imperial troops, the state of the French army, and the military operations plan with his French military leaders and courtiers. Many military commanders had different opinions on the ongoing war with the emperor, and they actively debated the matter.

“Your Majesty, I think that we should send our special envoy to the emperor. It would be better if we signed a peace treaty with them,” Anne de Montmorency offered.

Ignoring Montmorency’s statement, the king waved to Cardinal de Tournon to speak.

Cardinal François de Tournon smiled. “We are French. We cannot allow the Spaniards to humiliate and disgrace our nation. We must restore what France lost before the Battle of Pavia,” Tournon said proudly. “We have a large army now – more than twenty thousand people. More than half of them are well-trained. France has greatly increased its military power compared with what we had ten years ago.”

King François sighed as he remembered his shameful captivity and his imprisonment in Madrid. “I cannot support the idea of peace with the emperor. Not after the King of France and the whole country was humiliated by the emperor.” He cleared his throat. “In addition, the emperor is responsible for several assassination attempts on my life, including the last one in Venice.”

“Undoubtedly, we cannot leave the regicide attempts unpunished,” Montmorency said.

François gave an ambiguous smile to Montmorency. “It is not only about the assassination attempts. It is about the honor of France. I cannot sign the peace treaty now.”

Anne de Montmorency was the advocate of the peaceful treaty with the emperor. After the dismay in the previous Italian war, Montmorency was afraid that France might be again humiliated and that the king could be captured again. He also hadn’t remembered the financial involvement of the English King in the matter. And what if King Henry made an alliance with the emperor now? What would it mean for France?

“How many people has the emperor gathered?” the king asked in a nonchalant manner.

“The emperor has around fifteen thousand troops now. Only one third of them are not properly trained,” Cardinal de Tournon clarified.

François chuckled. “A simple mathematical calculation shows that our forces are almost equal.”

“We are continuing to train our forces even now,” Claude d’Annebault interjected. “In several months our army will be more trained than that of the emperor. The emperor needs to make more alliances to ensure that he will win the war.”

Anne de Montmorency curved his lips in a semblance of a smile. “The Holy Roman Emperor can make an alliance with England to dampen the military and political power of France.”

The ling laughed jauntily. “The emperor won’t be able to establish an Anglo-Imperial alliance. Now King Henry has too many serious internal problems. Well, you have heard about the current demonstrations against the religious policy in England.”

“It is likely that there will be a rebellion against Master Cromwell and King Henry,” Tournon assumed. He didn’t show that he knew why Cromwell had been disgraced.

François nodded. “It is very possible.”

Claude d’Annebault laughed sarcastically. “King Henry once supported Spain in an attempt to persuade the emperor to help him obtain the divorce from Queen Catherine. But the emperor deceived the English King and continued to resist the divorce. I don’t think that after that outrageous betrayal King Henry will think about an Anglo-Imperial alliance, especially given his current problems with Thomas Cromwell and the ongoing demonstrations.”

“Precisely accurate,” the king said with appreciation.

Montmorency rubbed his beard. “Your Majesty, the French poets are disgracing Cromwell. It looks a little suspicious that they are doing it right now.” He himself considered it strange.

François laughed at Montmorency and leaned forward. “Monty, you know that I am the godfather of the Renaissance in France. If my artists adhere to some themes that excite their imagination and inspire them with rewarding artistic work, I will never discourage them to change their direction. I am a Renaissance man, and I am supporting, not disinclining, our artists.”

Cardinal de Tournon smiled at the king. He adored François for his intelligence and astuteness. François was a great king, and Tournon wished him a long and happy life.

Montmorency was astonished, nearly jumping to his feet. “Your Majesty, the masterpieces of these poets may be potentially dangerous for France.”

A faint smile came to the corners of François’ mouth. “Monty, the poets are spreading knowledge. Freedom of expressing an opinion is an essential part of the Renaissance era..” François averted his gaze from Montmorency. He jumped to another topic. “I suppose that now we are ready for the war with the emperor. We have an alliance with the Republic of Venice, the Papal States, and the Ottoman Empire. The Duchy of Savoy will also support us. England is unlikely to establish an alliance with the emperor. Our army is strong, well-trained, and multitudinous. We are perfectly capable of winning the war,” he said proudly.

“I agree with Your Majesty. It is a matter of time when the emperor invades Provence or Piedmont, and we must be always alert,” Annebault summed up.

Montmorency blinked. “But we cannot be in a rush.”

“Certainly,” the king replied.

Tournon smiled. “The battle will happen after the New Year. We have plenty of time.”

Annebault laughed. “A lot of time,” he retorted. “To inspire our people, it would be great if they could see the queen who saved our king from the evil hand of the emperor’s assassin.”

King François shook his head in disagreement. His heart was hammering harder and harder as he remembered that he would become a father again soon. “I wouldn’t consider this variant because I value my queen’s life very much, above any possible gains. I cannot allow somebody to harm her and my child she is carrying now. So far everything will be kept in secret.”

Three pairs of astonished eyes focused on the King of France.

Tournon smiled benevolently. “Congratulations, Your Majesty.”

Annebault also smiled. “It is God’s blessing, Your Majesty.”

“My king, it is wonderful news,” Montmorency said. He was intrigued.

“Thank you,” the king replied. Then his mind drifted back to the war. “The emperor found the control of his wide empire rather difficult. With the large Spanish debt to clear and the Lutheran Reformation right in the heart of his empire, he has many internal problems to deal with. We must use it to our advantage.”

Everybody nodded. There was nothing they could object to on the matter.

Cardinal de Tournon coughed shortly. “We all remember that the emperor blocked the road near Pavia to make our soldiers starve. It lessened our strength. It was dishonest from his side. It was a matter of cold politics and intrigue. Now we can follow the analogical strategy. For example, we will leave over-ripe fruits on the trees in Provence and, possibly, in Piedmont to give the Imperial troops dysentery and other illnesses.” He paused, his voice deepening. “Curable illnesses,” he said with an emphasis that he wasn’t going to kill the people that were not on the battlefield. They need only lessen the army of the emperor. “We will use the emperor’s own methods,” the verdict followed.

Montmorency flinched. “I don’t like it, but if Your Majesty approves, I will say nothing against it.”

King François smiled favorably. “I approve,” he said with authority. He had been stunned when Anne proposed that idea. A resourceful, quick-witted woman, she had an incredible mind that was capable of inventing and weaving sophisticated intrigues. “We will discuss the matter later.”

December 1537, the Palace of Whitehall, London, England

Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk, and Thomas Seymour, Baron Sudeley returned to England from Europe in the end of November. They had both failed their diplomatic missions and feared the king’s wrath.

Charles Brandon was disappointed with the results of his journey to Italy. He had spent around two and a half months in Italy, one and a half months in Piedmont and one month in Venice. Many times he had tried to secure an audience with King François at his residence near Turin, but everything was useless. He was rejected on the grounds that only a limited number of people could be admitted to see the King of France for the sake of the preservation of his life after numerous assassination attempts. Charles insisted that it was an urgent meeting, but was refused.

Finally, Baron Anne de Montmorency, the Marshal of France, agreed to meet the Duke of Suffolk. Montmorency and Suffolk had an immensely formal, boring conversation about the politics and the ongoing Italian war. Montmorency thanked Charles and took the gifts for the Queen and the King of France, which were prepared by Charles with utmost care. Montmorency also confirmed that the name of the Queen of France had to remain confidential.

Afterwards, Charles went to Venice and spent a month there, trying to investigate who had saved the King of France in the cathedral. He failed not only to learn the name of the woman-savior, but also to learn the details of the story. Everywhere he went he found only dead ends as François and his people had completely covered all the tracks of the infamous incident. Disappointed and irritated, Charles eventually left Venice for England.

Thomas Seymour and Charles Brandon’s paths intersected in Provence, in the south of France, when Thomas was about to cross the border between Piedmont and France. At that time, Charles was traveling back to England from Italy. He persuaded Thomas to return to England, stating that he wouldn’t be permitted to have a private audience with the King of France in Turin. At first, Thomas couldn’t believe Charles and agreed to return to England only after Charles had told him the whole story about his unsuccessful trip to Turin and Venice.

Thomas Seymour had spent several stressful weeks in Paris. He had to wait for more than a month to have a private meeting with the regent of France – Queen Marguerite of Navarre, King François’ elder sister. Obliged to wait so long, Thomas became angry, making numerous complaints to Marguerite’s secretary and the French courtiers. When he asked where the Queen of Navarre was, he was informed that she had left Paris for several weeks. Then the secretary apologized and told Thomas that Marguerite was overloaded with France’s state deals and, thus, couldn’t have an urgent meeting with the envoy of England.

Thomas Seymour was both infuriated and confused; he didn’t understand why the regent of France couldn’t find time for him. Underneath that delay was a serious reason. Marguerite of Navarre refused to accept Thomas Seymour because she waited for detailed instructions from King François. She knew the reason why Thomas was so insistent to meet her. As she had to be very cautious, she decided to wait until she would receive her brother’s letter from Italy. François advised her to meet the English envoy and be calm, bold, and official with him, mentioning she couldn’t have ordered to arrest the poet just because he had written poems slandering somebody’s name, and it had not been the King of England himself.

Eventually, Thomas Seymour was officially accepted by Queen Marguerite at Palais de Louvre in Paris. Like in Charles Brandon’s case, it was a short, formal meeting with greetings in a polite, official tone. As the audience with Thomas Seymour began, Marguerite followed François’ recommendations.

Unfortunately, Thomas wasn’t as prudent and calculating as Edward Seymour was. He didn’t realize that Marguerite played with him. He immediately expressed King Henry’s grave concerns that the famous French poet had unjustly attacked Thomas Cromwell, slandering the minister’s name and disturbing Henry’s peace. He talked a lot about Henry’s displeasure, and Marguerite pretended that she attentively listened to him, looking at him with an innocent facial expression and laughing at him in her mind. Then Thomas became so bold as to demand, in King Henry’s name, the arrest and execution of the poet Mellin de Saint-Gelais. As he said that, Marguerite fluttered her long, black eyelashes up and down and replied with an unhidden regret in her melodic voice, that it was unreasonable for the English king to demand, not even ask, to arrest the poet who had done nothing wrong, except write pamphlets that had displeased King Henry. She underscored that Mellin de Saint-Gelais was the subject of France, not England, and that it was not in Henry’s power to decide Mellin’s fate. The Queen of Navarre claimed she hadn’t been authorized by her royal brother to arrest his favorite poet while he was out of France, especially given she wasn’t even sure the poet was guilty.