Oh there will be consequences for her affair with Jorge. Pious and dutiful Filipe is certainly not happy with a stranger taking his father's place in his mother's bed.
Audentes Fortuna Iuvat: A Timeline
- Thread starter pandizzy
- Start date
I am already recovering. I had a semi-mild case, I think. This weekend, I think I improved a lot. I still get tired a lot easier, but I think I'm already on my way to full recovery. One thing that I can do is I can write already, so we might have a new chapter today or tomorrow.
Chapter Thirty One - Anna Vasa
Ivan Ivanovich.
Many things stood in the way of her marriage. There was a twenty-one year age difference and, because Ivan had already been married three times before (his first two wives were sent to nunneries for failing to get pregnant, while the third died in childbirth), the Orthodox Church refused to grant their blessing. According to their law, "The first marriage is law; the second an extraordinary concession; the third is a violation of the law; the fourth is an impiety, a state similar to that of animals." In an attempt to counter this, Ivan had his son and Feodosiya Solovaya, his only former wife still living, testify that the Tsarevich had never consummated the marriage with his first two wives. After an examination proved Feodosiya was still a virgin, the church accepted to sanction the match as Ivan Ivanovich’s second marriage.
The Catholic Church didn’t approve it either. Although Jadwiga and Henry were indifferent towards their official faith, their countrymen and relatives were not. Francis of Alençon, Henry’s younger brother, offered to marry his niece himself but was refuted by his brother, who didn’t like him. Some of the nobles were appalled at the idea of the young Grand Duchess marrying a man old enough to be her father but had little power in this matter. The Henrician Articles ordered that the Sejm approve every marriage made by the ruling King, but Anna was a Grand Duchess, not a King. More importantly, after her parents’ took lands from rebellious lords, they were powerful enough to be able to bend the Parliament under their will and the marriage went ahead without a hitch on their side.
Before she left for Moscow, Anna’s parents advised her to follow her husband’s lead and to obey her father-in-law in all regards, as he could very well send her home. Her marriage was the first union between the Russian and Polish royal families since Helena of Moscow married Anna’s great-great-uncle, Alexander I of Poland, a controversial union that led to increased tensions between the two kingdoms and the renewal of the Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars in 1500. The marriage between Anna and Ivan was thus seen as the start of a hopeful friendship between the two courts.
Although not considered a great beauty, Anne of Valois had dark brown hair and blue eyes, traits that were seen favorably by the Russian court. She had inherited her mother’s short stature, standing at 5’3’’, but was considered healthy for her age. In a letter to Ivan the Terrible, Queen Jadwiga described her daughter as, “Good and sweet. She is clever, but not assertive. Anna will have healthy children. She will do her duty and give us many grandsons.”
Anna could speak Russian fluently, as Ivan the Terrible demanded it of her parents after the signing of her betrothal, but had a noticeable Polish accent that made it difficult for her to be understood. Her arrival in Moscow on 17 May was much celebrated by the court, which had been waiting for her for over seven years. Ivan was completely enchanted with his young bride and gave up on his infidelities by 1580. Despite the significant age difference, Anna also liked her husband, who was fond of indulging her.
After their marriage ceremony in Moscow, Anna assumed the title of Tsesarevna (Russian: Цесаревна) and found herself at odds with her husband’s stepmother, Maria Nagaya. At the request of her husband, Anna was given the jewelry of the popular Anastasia Romanovna, jewelry that was under Maria’s possession at the time. Her popularity with the people of Moscow increased when she was seen wearing the jewelry alongside an old dress that once belonged to Anastasia, while Maria faced significant problems with her marriage. Maria was not favored by her husband, and only the birth of her son Dmitry spared her banishment from court.
Anna, however, found the Russian court to be oppressive and had difficulties adjusting, especially in regards to what she ought to wear or do as a married woman. Ivan the Terrible had been weakened by a stroke suffered in 1584 while he was playing chess with Bogdan Belsky, and was paralyzed as a result, but remained as fearsome as before. Anna came to Moscow with several Polish attendants, but Ivan IV dismissed them all, fearing they might be spies. In letters to her mother, the young girl described her feeling of loneliness and solitude, something that wasn’t improved by the announcement of her first pregnancy in September 1589.
Anna Henrievna portrayed in modern media.
Perhaps encouraged by her in-laws, Anna turned to religion, becoming extremely pious as a result and improving her Russian. Anna also befriended her youngest brother-in-law, Dmitry, who was just seven years old at the time. The young boy called her Dearest Sister and often wrote to her, sending little trinkets and gifts from his holdings in Uglich. Her other brother-in-law and Ivan Ivanovich’s only full brother, Feodor, was sickly and had a difficult temperament. He was extremely pious, spending hours in prayer and contemplation. He was very fond of visiting churches, and would often cause the bells to be rung according to a special tradition in the Russian Orthodox Church.
Her first child, a girl, was born on February 24, 1590. She was called Anastasia Ivanovna but nicknamed Nastya by her relatives. Despite disappointments over her gender, her birth was much celebrated, as her father had taken care to name her after Ivan the Terrible’s favorite wife and his mother. Anastasia’s grandfather called her Киса, or pussycat, and was fond of holding her.
The happiness felt by Nastya’s mother, however, was voided by the death of Anna’s mother, Queen Jadwiga II. Although the Queen of Poland had boasted of considerable popularity for much of her reign, her sympathy towards the Jewish population of Poland gained her much enmity from her subjects. Jadwiga attempted to mediate this by funding numerous plays and propaganda showing the Jewish people in a positive light, but they failed to achieve the intended effect. More importantly, Jadwiga’s reforms towards the serfdom in Poland were also despised by the serfs, who wished for a return of their old days.
On 18, March, while out riding across the countryside with her husband, Jadwiga and Henry were accosted by an angry mob. When the Queen tried to flee, her spooked horse tripped, falling on top of her and breaking her back. Jadwiga lingered for two weeks before ultimately dying, much like her ancestor, Mary of Burgundy, had in 1482. Her grieving husband wrote in a letter to his brother, Francis, “Poland has lost its Queen, but I have lost my sister.” Anna wanted to return to Poland for her mother’s funeral, but Ivan the Terrible thought someone would try to kidnap his heir if Ivan Ivanovich left the country.
Although he could continue ruling as King without his wife, he was urged by the Sejm to remarry. His two sons, Sigismund and Henry, were still young and it was thought that he ought to marry another heir to the throne to produce more children. More importantly, the country needed a high-ranking woman to take over the ceremonial role of a queen.
Anna Vasa of Sweden was thus chosen. Daughter of Catherine Jagiellon, she had a claim to the Polish throne and was one of the few Roman Catholics left in the Swedish royal family after her brother’s conversion to Protestantism a year after their mother’s death in 1584. Only twenty-two, she could have more children that could fall behind Jadwiga’s sons (Anna had abdicated her rights) in the line of succession. In 1591, Anna married King Henryk and became Queen of Poland.
Anna Vasa of Sweden.
This is hilarious! It really captures the idiosyncrasies of royal marriages.
It kind of is. But I think Henry and Jadwiga's friendship is very sweet. Also, not all arranged marriages can end up as romantic love. Partnership and friendship is a pretty good deal, both for them and for the country.
Poor Anna W! Hopefully she will at least bear several healthy sons, that should help ease her unhappiness. Also, I hope Henry and Anna Vasa have a daughter and name her jadwiga!
I wonder, what impact might it have on Jadwiga's sons personality, could one of them potentially turn anti-Semitic, blaming the Jews for his mother's death?
In my head, Jadwiga and Henry are best friends. The type of best friends who only need to hang out in the same room, each doing their thing, to be happy. I have some personal information, the sort that doesn't really fit in the chapters, that I think of as an expanded universe. In my head, J&H stopped having intercourse after the birth of Catherine in 1583, because it was a premature birth that led to the death of the baby and almost to the death of the mother, so they just sort of evolved their relationship. He told her all about his new boyfriends, she told him about how stressed she was and this is how they worked. Sort of like Madame de Pompadour and Louis XV.
I still haven't decided whether the Rurikid male-line will survive or not, but I personally think Anne Valois is on her way to happiness. It's just some bumps on the road.
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Or maybe blame the serfs? And the population that attacked his parents?
Glad to hear you're recovering, @pandizzy.
Anyhow, lots of interesting developments. A boy king sits the throne of Portugal again, and Poland sees both joy and tragedy. Monarchs named Jadwiga never catch a break, huh?
Anyhow, lots of interesting developments. A boy king sits the throne of Portugal again, and Poland sees both joy and tragedy. Monarchs named Jadwiga never catch a break, huh?
This is also an possibility, but I simply wondered how would death of their mother is such a tragic manner at the young age affect them, IMHO it's given that at least one of her sons would become more cynical and distrustful.
Yeah. They will definitely blame something, its just a matter of time before we find out what it is.
I think it will take a while before we have another polish/russian updateWell, that's why I'm waiting so eagerly for future developments
I need to finish the ottoman war and then some important people are gonna die in western europe.I think it will take a while before we have another polish/russian update
That is very interesting too, so don't worry.
Chapter Thirty Two - A Historical Movie
MOVIE REVIEW: Catherine de Valois (2014) dir. Belén Macías.
Rate: 2/10. Didn’t even try to be accurate.
Earlier this week, I decided to take my butt to the cinema and finally watch this Oscar-bait. Since the first trailer was released, I’ve received countless requests to please review it, and I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer once the local drive-in announced they would stop showing it next week. And I know I just won’t be able to find it on the internet easily, so here we are. Neither one of us wanted this, but we must be grown-ups and do it. Rip off the bandaid and what-not.
Queen Catherine with a lady-in-waiting and a nun.
So let’s begin: Catherine de Valois is a Spanish-French movie about the life of a young girl torn between two great countries. It’s a direct sequel to the French movie, La Reine Catherine (1994), or the Queen Catherine, about Catherine I of Navarre and the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised later to learn that the actress portraying Queen Catherine in her adulthood, Irene Salas, is the daughter of Catherine Bourbon’s actress from La Reine Catherine; Isabelle Cortes. Isabelle Cortes also appeared in this movie, more on that later. Their resemblance really helped my submersion, although it was already almost non-existence.
I knew coming in it wouldn’t be great, and expectations were almost non-existent, but boy, was I shocked to find myself almost revolted with this attempt. The film starts with a flashback to the kidnapping of Catherine de Valois in Agen, modern-day France. Thankfully, we are spared from seeing the death of Catherine de Bourbon, although we do hear a four-year-old girl crying and screaming for her Maman as a strange man dressed in black rides away with her, so, we still saw some gruesome content.
This flashback really is the end of the historical accuracy, to be honest. Soon after, it cuts to the wedding between Catherine (now an adult and the Queen of Navarre after her mother’s death) and her Spanish-betrothed, Philip of Asturias in 1590. Philip is heir to the Spanish throne and the son of the man who ordered her kidnapping and the death of her mother, Philip II of Spain. The movie does score in pointing that Catherine hates her husband and his father, although Philip didn’t hate her as he does in the movie. If I recall correctly, he was indifferent to her, and only used her for breeding purposes. To hate her would mean that he cared about her at all, which he didn’t. He preferred the company of his mistresses, the most important of whom, María de Osorio, is shown here portrayed by Blanca Suárez.
Philip of Asturias.
Catherine’s only ally in the Spanish court was Queen Elisabeth, portrayed by the incredible Michelle Winston, who is Spanish despite her English-sounding name, who was both King Philip’s wife and his niece, gross. I sort of liked this portrayal of their close relationship, although Elisabeth more often than not took her husband’s side in the matters regarding the Queen of Navarre, not otherwise. Also, Philip of Asturias called Queen Elisabeth his mother, and was, by all intents and purposes, a really loving son, unlike what the movie portrays. His biological mother, Elizabeth of Valois, died when he was just one year old, after all, and he had known Elisabeth of Austria since he was three.
One other thing that I really hated was how they maintained the same actress throughout the movie, because, although Irene is a great actress, it failed to show how young Catherine really was. In fact, my wife was shocked when I told her that Catherine was fourteen years old when she got married. She was so young that the consummation of her marriage was postponed for two years (the movie shows it being consummated immediately), as there were concerns for her health, and their first child would only be born in 1593.
But, anyway, after the wedding, Philip of Asturias is crowned King-consort of Navarre as Philip IV. The movie shows his coronation happening immediately after the wedding, but it was actually two months later, something I’m willing to forgive. Unlike what the movie says, Philip of Asturias was now of equal-rank to his father and was treated as such, as both he and Catherine remained at the court in Madrid. He was entitled to use the Navarrese coat of arms, but he rarely did, thinking Navarre was insignificant when compared to his holdings in Asturias, in northern Spain. Although his ancestors had spent decades clawing it away from France, Philip didn’t care about Navarre and only visited it once after his wife’s death.
The Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Navarre.
The movie shows Catherine writing letters to her cousin, King Henry III of France, portrayed by the beautiful Louis Garrel, asking him to help her against her husband. It’s mentioned that Henry and Catherine were engaged once, as their shared grandmother, Catherine de’ Medici, intended to merge the French and Navarre crown again, but this changed after the young Queen was taken by the Spanish. Henry, as shown in the movie, is happily married to Philip of Asturias’ younger sister, Mary Eleanor, and mostly ignores his cousin’s letters. To be honest, I don’t really know why Henry is in this movie, he doesn’t do much, but I’m guessing he’s there so his marriage can serve as a parallel to Catherine and Philip.
Halfway through this movie, we are introduced to the dashing Duke of Alba, Antonio Álvarez de Toledo. He is young, handsome, and very charming, especially towards Catherine de Valois. A romantic song plays whenever he makes an entrance, which got old really fast, and he finds any way possible to kiss Catherine’s hands. When he first appeared, I thought, Oh no.
I didn’t think Oh no because I was extremely in love with him. I’m not into men. I thought Oh No because, well, a woman can’t be powerful if she doesn’t cheat on her husband. Which is what happens. Catherine de Valois, famous for trying to gain the independence of her country, for learning the Basque language in her early twenties and teaching it to her children, for being extremely religious and modest has an affair. I almost screamed when Alba and Catherine first kissed, because this didn’t happen! Anthony and Catherine never had an inkling of a friendship, let alone a romantic relationship. He paid his respects to her, as a ruling queen, but nothing beyond that. Catherine, in fact, disliked him after the ascension of her husband in 1593 because he was one of the leaders in the movement to unite all Spanish kingdom, Navarre included, into one official crown.
Two months of blissful lovemaking in the castles of Spain later, and Alba is sent to serve Philip II’s youngest son, John, in Flanders. This is very painful to Catherine because she is pregnant with his child, who is born a few scenes later. Everyone at court believes the baby, a girl, is Philip of Asturias’ daughter and she is named Luisa, after a common ancestor of her legal parents, Louise of Savoy. During the birth, Queen Catherine has a vision of her mother by her side. Catherine I looked aged and assisted her daughter in breathing and pushing her child, making it seem that she was still alive, even if it was just for one moment. This was a touching scene that made my wife aww as we watched, although I am made of a more cynical stone.
The movie ends on a somewhat happy note, as Alba writes frequent letters to Catherine, promising to return, although he doesn’t know about his child. Catherine makes a promise to herself that she will not let herself be destroyed by men, and that she will raise her child to one day be Queen of an independent Navarre. Very beautiful, and very untrue.
Infanta Louise by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz.
First things first, although Princess Louise was the eldest child of her parents, she wasn’t born until 1593, as mentioned before, and that was more than one year after Alba left Spain for Burgundy. Louise definitely wasn’t the love child of Catherine and Alba and she actually resembled her father a lot. She was one of the more fortunate bearers of the famous Habsburg jaw, or mandibular prognathism, that couldn’t have been inherited if she wasn’t Philip’s child. Louise was so like her father, in fact, that her mother refused to accept naming her after herself. Louise’s younger sister, the more Valois-looking Infanta Catalina, would be the one to have such honor.
Also, Louise was never truly considered to be an heiress for an independent Navarre. She had two younger brothers. Why would she be a ruling Queen if they lived?
So yes. This movie is bad. Don’t watch it, unless you like the aesthetic and are into hurting yourself. The only good part of this movie is the adorable little infantas, Margaret and Joan, younger sisters of Philip of Asturias. They were very funny, I must admit.
Thank you for reading this and I’ll see you next week on another movie review here on Art of History.
Olga of Kiev.
(also, the costumes suck).
Rate: 2/10. Didn’t even try to be accurate.
Earlier this week, I decided to take my butt to the cinema and finally watch this Oscar-bait. Since the first trailer was released, I’ve received countless requests to please review it, and I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer once the local drive-in announced they would stop showing it next week. And I know I just won’t be able to find it on the internet easily, so here we are. Neither one of us wanted this, but we must be grown-ups and do it. Rip off the bandaid and what-not.
Queen Catherine with a lady-in-waiting and a nun.
So let’s begin: Catherine de Valois is a Spanish-French movie about the life of a young girl torn between two great countries. It’s a direct sequel to the French movie, La Reine Catherine (1994), or the Queen Catherine, about Catherine I of Navarre and the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised later to learn that the actress portraying Queen Catherine in her adulthood, Irene Salas, is the daughter of Catherine Bourbon’s actress from La Reine Catherine; Isabelle Cortes. Isabelle Cortes also appeared in this movie, more on that later. Their resemblance really helped my submersion, although it was already almost non-existence.
I knew coming in it wouldn’t be great, and expectations were almost non-existent, but boy, was I shocked to find myself almost revolted with this attempt. The film starts with a flashback to the kidnapping of Catherine de Valois in Agen, modern-day France. Thankfully, we are spared from seeing the death of Catherine de Bourbon, although we do hear a four-year-old girl crying and screaming for her Maman as a strange man dressed in black rides away with her, so, we still saw some gruesome content.
This flashback really is the end of the historical accuracy, to be honest. Soon after, it cuts to the wedding between Catherine (now an adult and the Queen of Navarre after her mother’s death) and her Spanish-betrothed, Philip of Asturias in 1590. Philip is heir to the Spanish throne and the son of the man who ordered her kidnapping and the death of her mother, Philip II of Spain. The movie does score in pointing that Catherine hates her husband and his father, although Philip didn’t hate her as he does in the movie. If I recall correctly, he was indifferent to her, and only used her for breeding purposes. To hate her would mean that he cared about her at all, which he didn’t. He preferred the company of his mistresses, the most important of whom, María de Osorio, is shown here portrayed by Blanca Suárez.
Philip of Asturias.
Catherine’s only ally in the Spanish court was Queen Elisabeth, portrayed by the incredible Michelle Winston, who is Spanish despite her English-sounding name, who was both King Philip’s wife and his niece, gross. I sort of liked this portrayal of their close relationship, although Elisabeth more often than not took her husband’s side in the matters regarding the Queen of Navarre, not otherwise. Also, Philip of Asturias called Queen Elisabeth his mother, and was, by all intents and purposes, a really loving son, unlike what the movie portrays. His biological mother, Elizabeth of Valois, died when he was just one year old, after all, and he had known Elisabeth of Austria since he was three.
One other thing that I really hated was how they maintained the same actress throughout the movie, because, although Irene is a great actress, it failed to show how young Catherine really was. In fact, my wife was shocked when I told her that Catherine was fourteen years old when she got married. She was so young that the consummation of her marriage was postponed for two years (the movie shows it being consummated immediately), as there were concerns for her health, and their first child would only be born in 1593.
But, anyway, after the wedding, Philip of Asturias is crowned King-consort of Navarre as Philip IV. The movie shows his coronation happening immediately after the wedding, but it was actually two months later, something I’m willing to forgive. Unlike what the movie says, Philip of Asturias was now of equal-rank to his father and was treated as such, as both he and Catherine remained at the court in Madrid. He was entitled to use the Navarrese coat of arms, but he rarely did, thinking Navarre was insignificant when compared to his holdings in Asturias, in northern Spain. Although his ancestors had spent decades clawing it away from France, Philip didn’t care about Navarre and only visited it once after his wife’s death.
The Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Navarre.
The movie shows Catherine writing letters to her cousin, King Henry III of France, portrayed by the beautiful Louis Garrel, asking him to help her against her husband. It’s mentioned that Henry and Catherine were engaged once, as their shared grandmother, Catherine de’ Medici, intended to merge the French and Navarre crown again, but this changed after the young Queen was taken by the Spanish. Henry, as shown in the movie, is happily married to Philip of Asturias’ younger sister, Mary Eleanor, and mostly ignores his cousin’s letters. To be honest, I don’t really know why Henry is in this movie, he doesn’t do much, but I’m guessing he’s there so his marriage can serve as a parallel to Catherine and Philip.
Halfway through this movie, we are introduced to the dashing Duke of Alba, Antonio Álvarez de Toledo. He is young, handsome, and very charming, especially towards Catherine de Valois. A romantic song plays whenever he makes an entrance, which got old really fast, and he finds any way possible to kiss Catherine’s hands. When he first appeared, I thought, Oh no.
I didn’t think Oh no because I was extremely in love with him. I’m not into men. I thought Oh No because, well, a woman can’t be powerful if she doesn’t cheat on her husband. Which is what happens. Catherine de Valois, famous for trying to gain the independence of her country, for learning the Basque language in her early twenties and teaching it to her children, for being extremely religious and modest has an affair. I almost screamed when Alba and Catherine first kissed, because this didn’t happen! Anthony and Catherine never had an inkling of a friendship, let alone a romantic relationship. He paid his respects to her, as a ruling queen, but nothing beyond that. Catherine, in fact, disliked him after the ascension of her husband in 1593 because he was one of the leaders in the movement to unite all Spanish kingdom, Navarre included, into one official crown.
Two months of blissful lovemaking in the castles of Spain later, and Alba is sent to serve Philip II’s youngest son, John, in Flanders. This is very painful to Catherine because she is pregnant with his child, who is born a few scenes later. Everyone at court believes the baby, a girl, is Philip of Asturias’ daughter and she is named Luisa, after a common ancestor of her legal parents, Louise of Savoy. During the birth, Queen Catherine has a vision of her mother by her side. Catherine I looked aged and assisted her daughter in breathing and pushing her child, making it seem that she was still alive, even if it was just for one moment. This was a touching scene that made my wife aww as we watched, although I am made of a more cynical stone.
The movie ends on a somewhat happy note, as Alba writes frequent letters to Catherine, promising to return, although he doesn’t know about his child. Catherine makes a promise to herself that she will not let herself be destroyed by men, and that she will raise her child to one day be Queen of an independent Navarre. Very beautiful, and very untrue.
Infanta Louise by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz.
First things first, although Princess Louise was the eldest child of her parents, she wasn’t born until 1593, as mentioned before, and that was more than one year after Alba left Spain for Burgundy. Louise definitely wasn’t the love child of Catherine and Alba and she actually resembled her father a lot. She was one of the more fortunate bearers of the famous Habsburg jaw, or mandibular prognathism, that couldn’t have been inherited if she wasn’t Philip’s child. Louise was so like her father, in fact, that her mother refused to accept naming her after herself. Louise’s younger sister, the more Valois-looking Infanta Catalina, would be the one to have such honor.
Also, Louise was never truly considered to be an heiress for an independent Navarre. She had two younger brothers. Why would she be a ruling Queen if they lived?
So yes. This movie is bad. Don’t watch it, unless you like the aesthetic and are into hurting yourself. The only good part of this movie is the adorable little infantas, Margaret and Joan, younger sisters of Philip of Asturias. They were very funny, I must admit.
Thank you for reading this and I’ll see you next week on another movie review here on Art of History.
Olga of Kiev.
(also, the costumes suck).
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Could you do more chapters depicting POV of modern people on TL's history? That's amazing and makes me wonder how this world would develop in TTL's XXIth century.
Oh, you got some nice eastern Poland there