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Women in Charles's family
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Charles' aunt : Margaret of Austria
Charles' four sisters : Eleanor , Isabel , Mary of Hungary , Catherine Charles' wife : Isabel of Portugal Charles' three daughters : Mary , Joan , Margaret of Parma
These women played an important role in Charles' power politics. He used them for his dynastic plans, sometimes even forcing them to comply with his wishes. Their loyalty could always be relied upon when they served Charles as governor general in one of his states. Their effigies were printed on medals, a creation of the Renaissance.
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Charles' aunt : Margaret of Austria (*1480 †1530)
Wife of infant John (†1497) and Philibert II. le Beau (†1504) Governor General of the Netherlands 1507-15 & 1522-30. Margaret, daughter of emperor Maximilian I, was betrothed to the French dauphin in 1483 when she was just three years old, so that she was educated in France. In 1491, her fiancee, by then Charles VIII of France, broke the engagement, and she went back the Nethertlands. In 1497, she married John, heir to the Spanish kingdoms, who died only a few months later, supposedly from marital fervour. She married Philibert II, duke of Savoy, in 1501. This marriage was a happy one, but Philibert also died as a young man, and in 1504 Margaret was back in the Netherlands, widowed again, and childless. Therefore, Maximilian appointed Margaret regent of the Netherlands and guardian of her nephew Charles in 1507, as her brother Philip I the Handsome, had died in 1506.
Charles grew up with his aunt and was educated at her court in Mecheln. Her regency ended when Charles was declared of age in 1515. Margaret always remained attached to his interests, and Charles did not hesitate to reappoint her as regent of the Netherlands in 1522, when he took off for Spain. She proved an able regent, trying hard to balance the country's interests with the necessity to provide Charles with the funds he demanded for his military campaigns. In 1529 she was Charles's representative in Cambrai, where she negotiated the "Ladies' Peace" with Louise of Savoy, who in turn spoke for her son Francis I, king of France.
Margaret of Austria was an outstanding figure, a patron of the arts and literature, and her court in Mecheln became a center of humanism and learning. She was buried in Bourg-en-Bresse (French Jura) beside her beloved Philibert.
Medal, 1502, Bourg-en-Bresse. Cast from Jean Marende. Ř 98mm Mazerolle 3/11-12 (1904) Obv.: PHiLiBERTVS·DVX·SABAVDiaE·VIII·MaRGVArita·MAXImiliani·CAEsaris·AVGusti· FIlia·Ducissa·SAbaudiae: "Philibert, eighth duke of Savoy, Margaret, daughter of Maximilian, Caesar Augustus, duchess of Savoy"
Rev.: GLORiA IN ALTiSsiMiS·DEO ET IN TERRA PAX·HOMINIBVS : BVRGVS:Busts of Philibert the Fair and Margaret of Austria. Savoy knots and marguerites in the field. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men : Bourg"
Coat of arms of Savoy (cross) and Habsburg: Austria, Burgundy (old and modern), Brabant and Flandern (lions). At the top the "love knot", a symbol of true friendship and unfailing devotion. At the sides knots,marguerites and the letters FE-RT . FERT, the motto of the house of Savoy, has been explained as "foedere et religione tenerum" = "Through unity and religion are we sustained"
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Charles' eldest sister : Eleanor (*1498 †1558)
Wife of Emanuel I, King of Portugal, later Wife of Francis I, King of France Eleanor was born in Brussels and educated by her aunt Margaret in the Netherlands, where she grew up together with Charles and her sisters. In 1519, Charles forced her to marry the 50-year-old, humpbacked King Manuel "The Splendid" of Portugal, who had already been married to two of her aunts. Only two years later, she was a widow. Charles now married her to Francis I of France, his prisoner at the time. Francis later cancelled all treaties with Charles, but his marriage to Eleonore was confirmed in the so-called "Ladies' Peace Treaty of Cambrai" in 1529. A year later, Eleonor finally joined the French court, where she had less influence than Francis' mistress. Eleonor strove for reconciliation between her husband and her brother. In 1542 she even suggested to Charles to marry one of Francis' daughters, but Charles rejected this. After Francis' death in 1547, Eleanor lived in Brussels . She accompanied her brother to Spain after his abdication in 1556, and she died there in 1558.
Silver medal (about 1538) casting Ř 42mm Habich I/1166 Obv.: ·FRANCISCVS·I·Dei·Gratia·REX·FRANCIE Bust of Francis I
Rev.: FRANCISCI·I·FRANCORVM·REGIS·EtCetera·LEONORA·CONIVNX"Eleanor, wife of Francis I, king of France, etc." Bust of Eleanor
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Charles' sister : Isabel (*1501 †1526)
Wife of Christian II, King of Denmark. Isabel was born in Brussels, and, as her siblings, she was educated by her Aunt Margaret. Maximilian I married her to King Christian II of Denmark in 1515. Christian II lost his kingdom after the Stockholm massacre in 1520 and was given the nickname "Nero of the North". When Isabel died at the age of 25, her daughters Dorothy and Christina were also put into Margaret's care. They, too, were game for Charles' political matchmaking.
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Charles' dearest sister : Mary of Hungary (*1505 †1558)
Wife of Louis II, King of Hungary , Governor General of the Netherlands from 1531 to 1556. Mary was born in Brussels in 1505. Soon after her birth, her parents left for Spain, and she never got to know them. She grew up in Mecheln, at her Aunt Margaret's court, and was educated in the Burgundy tradition. She was hardly six months old when Emperor Maximilian promised her to Prince Louis, son of the King of Bohemia and Hungary - Louis was not even born yet at the time. In 1515, aged ten, she married Louis in Vienna. It was a double wedding ceremony. Her brother Ferdinand was married to Anne of Bohemia by proxy, his grandfather Emperor Maximilian standing in for him on the occasion. Mary and her new sister-in-law prepared for their future tasks in Innsbruck.
In 1521, Mary gallantly travelled to Buda to assist her husband, who was being challenged both by the Hungarian magnates and by the Turks. Mary and Louis succeeded in enforcing their coronation as King and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia. They had a few happy years of marriage, under rather chaotic circumstances, until Louis' army, completely unprepared, was attacked by the vastly superior Turkish forces in 1526. Louis died in the Battle of Mohacs, and Mary had to take refuge in Bratislava. She defended her brother Ferdinand's heritage claims against the Magnate Zápolya until Ferdinand succeeded in asserting his rights. Maria refused to be married again. She loved to ride and hunt and was a good falconer. She was well eduated and interested in the "new religion", much to her brothers' dismay. She became Charles' Governor General of the Netherlands after the death of her aunt Margaret in 1531. Mary held Charles in great esteem and acted on his behalf reliably and prudently. When the Emperor abdicated in 1556, she followed suit and accompanied him to Spain, as did her sister Eleanor. In 1558, her nephew Philip II asked Mary for her assistance in the Netherlands, but Mary died on the way there.
Silver medal (before 1549), dies from Neufahrer, Linz. Ř 32mm, 14,2g Donebauer 983; Markl 1989 Obv.: +MARIA·REGINA·VNGariae:VIDVA·CAROLI·CESAris:ET·FERDInandi·REgis:SORor "Mary Queen of Hungary, widow, sister of Emperor Charles and King Ferdinand" Bust with bonnet.
Rev.: +IN·PACIENCIA·POSSIDEBITIS·ANIMAS·VESTRAS·LVCE·XXI"By standing firm (with patience) you will gain life. Luke 21" (verse 19)
Sitting herdswoman (Patientia), sheep in front, castle in the back, above angel with cross in a cloud. |
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Charles' youngest sister : Catherine (*1507 †1578)
Wife of John III, King of Portugal , Regent for her grandson Sebastian. Catherine spent her childhood with her mentally disturbed mother in Tordesillas. In 1524 she married King John III of Portugal (1502-57). Catherine resolutely influenced Portuguese politics. She introduced inquisition on the state's behalf and helped bring about her brother Charles' marriage plans: her children Mary and John were married to Charles' children Philip and Joan in a double wedding. After her son's and her husband's death in 1554 and 1557 respectively, she became regent for her unstable grandson Sebastian until his coming of age in 1568.
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Charles' wife : Isabel of Portugal (*1503 †1539)
Regent in Spain 1529-33 & 1535-36. Isabel was born in Lisbon in 1503. She was the eldest daughter of King Emanuel of Portugal and Mary, a sister of Charles' mother. Isabel's parents and the Spanish Cortes urged Charles to marry her, offering an enormous dowery, but Charles took his time. Eventually, he married his beautiful cousin in Sevilla in 1526 without having seen her previously. They spent their honeymoon in the Alhambra.
Isabel and Charles had three children: Philip (*1527), subsequently King of Spain, Mary (*1528), who became Maximilian's II wife, and Joan (*1535), wife of John of Portugal. During Charles' absence from Spain in 1529-33 and 1535-36 Isabel acted on his behalf reliably and intelligently. Isabel died in Toledo in 1539, aged 38, after her 7th pregnancy in 12 years. She was buried in Granada in the burial chapel of the Catholic Kings. Charles refused to be married again.
Bronze medal (about 1550) casting, model from Leone Leoni. Ř 36mm Armand I,168,24 ; Bernhart 169 in memory of his deceased wife Isabel of Portugal Obv.: IMP·CAES·CAR - OLVS V·AVG Charles V bust with laurel. Rev.: DIVA·ISABELLA·CA - ROLI·V·VXor Isabel's bust. |
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Charles' daughter : Mary (*1528 †1603)
Wife of Emperor Maximilian II Mary was educated together with her brother Philip II. She was mainly interested in catholicism, which she practiced in an exalted form, only surpassed in this respect by her sister Joan.
In 1548 she married her cousin Maximilian (i.e. Emperor Maximilian II since 1564), who had only reluctantly started out on the wedding journey to Spain, partly because he sympathised with Protestantism. Their marriage was a happy one, and they had 16 children, among them the future Emperors Rudolph II and Matthias, and Anne, wife of King Philip II, mother of the long-hoped-for heir to the throne. Mary had her children educated in a stricly catholic way. She could not alleviate the tension between her husband Maximilian II and her brother Philip II. In 1581, five years after Maximilian's II death, she retreated to Spain, where she died lonely and embittered.
Bronzed lead medal (about 1551). Model of J. da Trezzo. Ř 62mm Domanig 52 MARIA AVSTriae REGina BOEMiae - CAROLI V IMPeratoris FIlia "Mary of Austria, Queen of Bohemia, daughter from Emperor Charles V"
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Charles' daughter : Joan (*1535 †1573)
Wife of Prince John of Portugal , Regent in Spain 1554-59. Joan was Charles' youngest daughter. She was only 4 years old when her mother died. In 1552, she married the Portugese heir apparent John, who died in 1554, just before the birth of their son Sebastian. Joan returned to the Spanish Court and became Governor General of Spain until Philip II himself took over in 1559. She died at the age of 38 in the Escorial.
Bronze medal (about 1552). Cast, model of J. da Trezzo. Ř 63mm Domanig 49 Obv.: IOANNA AVSTRiae CAROLI - V IMPeratoris FILIA Bust with beret. Rev.: CONNVBII - FRVCTVS "conjugal offspring" Ceres on a throne, a hare at her feet, a bust of Mars at the leg of the chair.
Ceres is the Roman goddess of farming, fertility and marriage. |
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Charles' daughter : Margaret of Parma (*1522 †1586)
Wife of Alessandro de Medici , Wife of Ottavio Farnese Governor General in the Netherlands 1559-67. Margaret, premarital daughter of Charles and the maid Joan van der Gheenst, was taken from her mother and educated in a Brussels family as befitted her rank. In order to confirm his reconciliation with the Pope Clemens VII in 1529, Charles promised his 7-year-old daughter in marriage to Alessandro de Medici, a known libertine, ostensibly the Pope's newphew, more likely his son. Charles saw his daughter for the first time when she married in Naples in 1536. A year later, the rakish Alessandro was killed and Margaret was a widow at the age of 15. Cosimo, head of the Medici family, would have liked to marry Margaret, and she was not opposed to the idea. However, the emperor had different plans, as the new Pope Paul III was looking for a wife for his grandson Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma. Charles forced his daughter into this marriage, and she did not agree to marry Ottavio until 1543, when he returned from Charles' expedition to Algier.
In 1556 she had to entrust her beloved son Alessandro to the Spanish Court of Philip II. Philip II appointed her Governor General of the Netherlands in 1559. She did her best to reconciliate the King of Spain and the Dutch people, but the problems at the eve of the revolution were too complicated. Eventually, the King sent Bloody Duke Alba to the Netherlands in 1567. Alba was not only entitled with an authority that left Margaret practically powerless, he was also accompanied by an army. Margaret resigned the same year and returned to Parma. Philip II asked her to head a peace mission to the Netherlands in 1580, but her endeavours failed because of her son Alessandro's military actions. He became Governor General in 1583, and his mother retreated to Italy.
Silver medal, 1567. Casting, model of Jacques Jonghelinck. Ř 34mm Domanig 65 Obv.: MARGARETA·DE·AVSTRIA·Ducissa·Parmea·ET·Placentiae·GERManiae·INFERioris·Gubernatrix "Margaret of Austria, duchess of Parma and Piacenza, governor-general of the Low Countirs"
Rev.: A·DOMINO·FACTVM·EST·ISTVD "This has been accomplished by the Lord"
Bust, below the shoulder: AETatis 45 "at age 45" Amazon with sword, palm and laural branches in a stormy landscape with four blowing winds, below 1567. The allegorical figure is meant to be Margaret. The medal was issued on restoration of order and shortly before Margaret left the Netherlands.
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