Well being married to Margaret Tudor did not prevent him from declaring war on her brothers kingdom.
The Marriage of the Century - A Burgundian Timeline
- Thread starter BlueFlowwer
- Start date
True but part of the goal of Maria marrying James and Catherine marrying the heir to the english throne was to (theoretically) bring peace to the British isles. If James sides with France he may lose some of the benefits of his Spanish marriage.
Your right. Almost nothing can stop the English and Scots from fighting with one another.
Well that is pretty likely to not work at all... James IV in OTL attacked England when he was married to the English heiress presuntive...
Hmm. Good point. I'm sure I can conjure up another reason for England and Scotland to crash together in 1513. Perhaps something to do with Ireland?
Chapter 21. A double marriage
Chapter 21. A double marriage
Archduke Frederick of Austria and Infanta Juana of Castile
Emperor Maximilian’s two oldest children, Frederick and Eleanor married their Spanish spouses in 1496. The journey for both brides went from Austria to Holland, Philip of Burgundy having given permission for the imperial and Spanish entourages to move freely in the Low Countries. The ships that carried Archduchess Eleanor to Gijon on the coast of Asturias in Spain, would take infanta Juana back the same way a fortnight later. Both brides stayed in the low Countries before embarking at sea, with the duchess and duke being hosts in Amsterdam.
Ana was delighted to meet her sister Juana again, greeting her at the port in Antwerp. The duchess had given birth to a daughter, Catherine in 1495. The two sisters spent five days together before Juana’s entourage set off towards the Hapsburg territory. Eitel Friedrich II, Count of Hohenzollern had been stationed in Utrecht by order of Maximilian to see Eleanor off safely and to greet Juana.
Juana bade farewell to her sister and left for her imperial husband and the Austrian lands, a place far away from her Spanish homeland.
Archduchess Eleanor would meet her bridegroom in Burgos, in the winter of 1496, shortly before Christmas. Her entourage arrived at dusk, the darkened city gleaming with lit torches and candles in the house windows. Her new mother in law greeted the princess at the palace, and the finely attired maidens kissing her hand.
The Duke and duchess of Granada escorted Eleanor to the cathedral of Burgos for her wedding a few days later, the bride dressed in cloth of silver and crimson velvet with a pearl spangled veil. Juan, prince of Asturias wore cloth of gold with fine sable fur, the pair making a stunning sight.
Juan had grown up into a slim blonde man of delicate health, being twenty-two years old at his marriage. The prince had been well educated, could play violin and sing beautifully. He seemed very taken with his Austrian bride and she with him, a pattern for Isabel’s family. The newlywed’s ardour resulted in them spending much time in bed together, so the court physicians concern as Juan had a frail constitution since childhood. Eleanor had a charming personality, with a sharp sense of humour, much to Juan’s delight. Juan and Eleanor’s marriage had started of great.
Juan, prince of Asturias
This sisters Juana’s marriage to Archduke Frederick would be passionate as well…in another way. The infanta would fall deeply in love with her husband, almost from their first meeting. Juana inherited the jealous tendencies of her mother’s family, a proneness to drama and melancholy. Frederick were licentious and irresponsible, having several affairs during his marriage. The foreign attitudes in the Austrian and German courtiers left Juana feeling more isolated, perhaps adding to her melancholy.
One comfort for the new archduchess was Mary of Burgundy. The queen of the romans spent much time with her daughter-in law, who advised Juana to look the other way when it came to infidelity, having much practice at it herself. Maximilian had not been a faithful husband, but he was respectful enough to keep his mistresses out of Mary’s court.
Juana’s first pregnancy in 1497 ended in a miscarriage and she slipped into a period of depression. Margaret of Austria, the youngest daughter of Maximilian, would stay at her side, trying to cheer her new sister up. Mary told her son sharply to be more kind to Juana when Frederick attempted to blame his wife for the lost baby, slapping him across the face to make her point. If her son did not shape up, then she would send him away from court.
Frederick took his mother’s threat seriously and treated Juana with more kindness from that point on. In 1499, Juana gave birth to a daughter, Mary of Austria. After Mary’s birth Maximilian decided to send Frederick to Tyrol (Mary’s suggestion), to learn the government in a different part of the Holy Roman Empire. Juana and Frederick arrived in Innsbruck, the capital and a city Maximilian had made into a centre of politics and culture.
Innsbruck in 1500
The city of Innsbruck seemed to make a positive change on both Frederick and Juana.
A missive to Maximilian reads “The archduke has taken a active interest in the governing of Tyrol, making a effort to listen to his imperial subjects and to shed the impervious manners of his youth.”
For Juana, the valleys and mountains of Tyrol seemed to have a soothing influence and Philip’s development had a healthy effect on their marriage. Juana’s virtues flowered in Tyrol, gathering musicians at the court and dancing at evenings. She rode often in the mountains, hawking with her ladies or her husband. Her time in Tyrol was marked by the birth of two children, Maximilian in 1502 and Isabella in 1505.
Frederick would spend substantial sums to further improve the Imperial Palace at Innsbruck. His father had made it one of the pearls of his realms and Frederick added to the grandness during his long stay in Tyrol. Juana’s apartments were decorated with Spanish comforts like silk cushions and rugs imported from the weavers of Granada.
The archduke and duchess would remain in Tyrol until 1508, when Maximilian was elected Holy Roman Emperor. The coronation took place in Aachen Cathedral, the traditional crowning place of Emperor. Frederick travelled to Aachen, leaving the pregnant Juana and the children in safe hands in Innsbruck, to attend. After Maximilian’s crowning, Frederick was elected King of the Romans.
In attendance in Aachen were also Duke Philip of Burgundy, having discreetly provided parts of the funds for the election. Philip, Count of Somme, now seventeen years old accompanied his father. Maximilian’s election did not entirely come with joy, his second son Charles had died two years earlier in a hunting accident.
Perhaps as a consolation, Juana, queen of the Romans, gave birth to a son shortly after the coronation, Ferdinand of Austria in 20th of February.
Emperor Maximilian
And now a update!
Archduke Frederick of Austria and Infanta Juana of Castile
Emperor Maximilian’s two oldest children, Frederick and Eleanor married their Spanish spouses in 1496. The journey for both brides went from Austria to Holland, Philip of Burgundy having given permission for the imperial and Spanish entourages to move freely in the Low Countries. The ships that carried Archduchess Eleanor to Gijon on the coast of Asturias in Spain, would take infanta Juana back the same way a fortnight later. Both brides stayed in the low Countries before embarking at sea, with the duchess and duke being hosts in Amsterdam.
Ana was delighted to meet her sister Juana again, greeting her at the port in Antwerp. The duchess had given birth to a daughter, Catherine in 1495. The two sisters spent five days together before Juana’s entourage set off towards the Hapsburg territory. Eitel Friedrich II, Count of Hohenzollern had been stationed in Utrecht by order of Maximilian to see Eleanor off safely and to greet Juana.
Juana bade farewell to her sister and left for her imperial husband and the Austrian lands, a place far away from her Spanish homeland.
Archduchess Eleanor would meet her bridegroom in Burgos, in the winter of 1496, shortly before Christmas. Her entourage arrived at dusk, the darkened city gleaming with lit torches and candles in the house windows. Her new mother in law greeted the princess at the palace, and the finely attired maidens kissing her hand.
The Duke and duchess of Granada escorted Eleanor to the cathedral of Burgos for her wedding a few days later, the bride dressed in cloth of silver and crimson velvet with a pearl spangled veil. Juan, prince of Asturias wore cloth of gold with fine sable fur, the pair making a stunning sight.
Juan had grown up into a slim blonde man of delicate health, being twenty-two years old at his marriage. The prince had been well educated, could play violin and sing beautifully. He seemed very taken with his Austrian bride and she with him, a pattern for Isabel’s family. The newlywed’s ardour resulted in them spending much time in bed together, so the court physicians concern as Juan had a frail constitution since childhood. Eleanor had a charming personality, with a sharp sense of humour, much to Juan’s delight. Juan and Eleanor’s marriage had started of great.
Juan, prince of Asturias
This sisters Juana’s marriage to Archduke Frederick would be passionate as well…in another way. The infanta would fall deeply in love with her husband, almost from their first meeting. Juana inherited the jealous tendencies of her mother’s family, a proneness to drama and melancholy. Frederick were licentious and irresponsible, having several affairs during his marriage. The foreign attitudes in the Austrian and German courtiers left Juana feeling more isolated, perhaps adding to her melancholy.
One comfort for the new archduchess was Mary of Burgundy. The queen of the romans spent much time with her daughter-in law, who advised Juana to look the other way when it came to infidelity, having much practice at it herself. Maximilian had not been a faithful husband, but he was respectful enough to keep his mistresses out of Mary’s court.
Juana’s first pregnancy in 1497 ended in a miscarriage and she slipped into a period of depression. Margaret of Austria, the youngest daughter of Maximilian, would stay at her side, trying to cheer her new sister up. Mary told her son sharply to be more kind to Juana when Frederick attempted to blame his wife for the lost baby, slapping him across the face to make her point. If her son did not shape up, then she would send him away from court.
Frederick took his mother’s threat seriously and treated Juana with more kindness from that point on. In 1499, Juana gave birth to a daughter, Mary of Austria. After Mary’s birth Maximilian decided to send Frederick to Tyrol (Mary’s suggestion), to learn the government in a different part of the Holy Roman Empire. Juana and Frederick arrived in Innsbruck, the capital and a city Maximilian had made into a centre of politics and culture.
Innsbruck in 1500
The city of Innsbruck seemed to make a positive change on both Frederick and Juana.
A missive to Maximilian reads “The archduke has taken a active interest in the governing of Tyrol, making a effort to listen to his imperial subjects and to shed the impervious manners of his youth.”
For Juana, the valleys and mountains of Tyrol seemed to have a soothing influence and Philip’s development had a healthy effect on their marriage. Juana’s virtues flowered in Tyrol, gathering musicians at the court and dancing at evenings. She rode often in the mountains, hawking with her ladies or her husband. Her time in Tyrol was marked by the birth of two children, Maximilian in 1502 and Isabella in 1505.
Frederick would spend substantial sums to further improve the Imperial Palace at Innsbruck. His father had made it one of the pearls of his realms and Frederick added to the grandness during his long stay in Tyrol. Juana’s apartments were decorated with Spanish comforts like silk cushions and rugs imported from the weavers of Granada.
The archduke and duchess would remain in Tyrol until 1508, when Maximilian was elected Holy Roman Emperor. The coronation took place in Aachen Cathedral, the traditional crowning place of Emperor. Frederick travelled to Aachen, leaving the pregnant Juana and the children in safe hands in Innsbruck, to attend. After Maximilian’s crowning, Frederick was elected King of the Romans.
In attendance in Aachen were also Duke Philip of Burgundy, having discreetly provided parts of the funds for the election. Philip, Count of Somme, now seventeen years old accompanied his father. Maximilian’s election did not entirely come with joy, his second son Charles had died two years earlier in a hunting accident.
Perhaps as a consolation, Juana, queen of the Romans, gave birth to a son shortly after the coronation, Ferdinand of Austria in 20th of February.
Emperor Maximilian
And now a update!
Lovely chapter! I suggest a family tree might be a good idea, if you can see your way to creating one soon 
Family trees are coming soon, promise!
And Juana is in a much better place then otl, so that is good as well.
And Juana is in a much better place then otl, so that is good as well.
Chapter 22. The death of Christian Princes
Chapter 22. The death of Christian princes, part I.
For those historians who seeks to parcel the unwieldy pasts into neat packages, the years of 1497 -1500 would provide the final deathblow to the lingering medieval age. For the ruling houses of Europe, this would be a time of deaths. The first victim to fall for the scythe was the King of Navarre. Francis Phoebus had to general astonishment managed to hang on to his throne, albeit with his fingertips, ever since his disastrous marriage to Leonor, his illegitimate Portuguese mistress. King John II of Portugal had died in 1495, leaving the throne to his oldest son, now Alphonso VI. The Portuguese king had married Isabella of Aragon in 1491 and their son, Joao were now the crown prince. Isabella would give birth to a daughter, Leonor, named for her paternal grandmother in 1498. The succession had thus been secured, even Alphonso’s brother, the Duke of Coimbra had been blessed with a girl, Margaret of Coimbra in 1496.
Francis Phoebus had no living children to secure his dynasty: a stillborn son in 1494 and a miscarriage the year after that. The situation in Navarre had calmed somewhat since 1491, but Francis himself was loathed by his subjects.
Royal authority was in shambles with the weak crown being unable to prevent rebellions erupting like geysers in upper Navarre, bandits roaming the streets robbing villages and bad years of harvests. Pretty much the sole reason why Francis still wore the crown is because the heir to Navarre consisted of his uncle John of Foix, viscount of Narbonne, a French allied man detested by the Iberian population in lower Navarre. John had two children, a daughter Germaine and a son Gaston, unlike his childless nephew. Pressure from parts of Navarre for Francis Phoebus to designate John as prince of Viana, the traditional title of the heir to the throne, but that further riled up the rest of the kingdom, particularly the Iberians. Amidst the chaos in 1497 Queen Lenore got pregnant once more. Francis Phoebus prayed for a healthy son, hoping for a match between the unborn baby and princess Anne of France.
John of Foix
“Francis Phoebus owed a great deal to Charles VIII’s invasion of Naples in 1494. The need to restrain French ambitions over the Italian peninsula were for a couple of years, of higher priority for Ferdinand than the issue of the kingdom he had long since coveted. But that time had been nothing mere than loan and in 1497 the debt would come calling to Francis once more…”
-Source: Phoebus the Dim – The last king of Navarre, Margaret Elijah Watson.
A royal hunting party in Irati forest on 9th of October 1497 would end with disastrous consequences for Navarre. The king and his brazen circle of friends had decided a boar hunt to entertain themselves, chasing the wild animal with horses, hounds and spears among the gold and brown coloured trees with carefree abandon. The slippery leaves coating the ground would prove Francis Phoebus’s undoing, his horse losing the footing and throwing its rider. The animal then fell over his master, crushing the man’s ribcage, leaving Francis in unbearable agony. The king died Pamplona a week later.
John of Foix made his move immediately, sending out messengers to France. His wife was the sister of Louis of Orléans, the cousin of Charles VIII of France. John thus hoped for support from France, even offering to betroth his daughter Germaine to the dauphin. The pregnant Leonor however could still determine the future of Navarre, if her unborn child were a male, then he had a stronger claim to the throne. But Lenore herself was a bastard and the marriage could be declared void by the courtes if sufficiently motivated.
Lenore’s child, born at on the 20th of May 1498 in Pamplona, was not the long-awaited prince of Viana. A daughter, Magdalena, had instead arrived. John of Foix wasted no time and tried to bully the courtes of Navarre for giving the infant heiress’s hand to his son Gaston. At the same time, Charles VIII had no intention of letting Navarre slip out of French hands, his second son Jean could become king as well as the dauphin.
And in Spain Ferdinand and Isabel were making plans of their own…
Magdalena of Navarre, princess of Viana
Sorry about the late update, I have had lot of work. Hope you like this update!
For those historians who seeks to parcel the unwieldy pasts into neat packages, the years of 1497 -1500 would provide the final deathblow to the lingering medieval age. For the ruling houses of Europe, this would be a time of deaths. The first victim to fall for the scythe was the King of Navarre. Francis Phoebus had to general astonishment managed to hang on to his throne, albeit with his fingertips, ever since his disastrous marriage to Leonor, his illegitimate Portuguese mistress. King John II of Portugal had died in 1495, leaving the throne to his oldest son, now Alphonso VI. The Portuguese king had married Isabella of Aragon in 1491 and their son, Joao were now the crown prince. Isabella would give birth to a daughter, Leonor, named for her paternal grandmother in 1498. The succession had thus been secured, even Alphonso’s brother, the Duke of Coimbra had been blessed with a girl, Margaret of Coimbra in 1496.
Francis Phoebus had no living children to secure his dynasty: a stillborn son in 1494 and a miscarriage the year after that. The situation in Navarre had calmed somewhat since 1491, but Francis himself was loathed by his subjects.
Royal authority was in shambles with the weak crown being unable to prevent rebellions erupting like geysers in upper Navarre, bandits roaming the streets robbing villages and bad years of harvests. Pretty much the sole reason why Francis still wore the crown is because the heir to Navarre consisted of his uncle John of Foix, viscount of Narbonne, a French allied man detested by the Iberian population in lower Navarre. John had two children, a daughter Germaine and a son Gaston, unlike his childless nephew. Pressure from parts of Navarre for Francis Phoebus to designate John as prince of Viana, the traditional title of the heir to the throne, but that further riled up the rest of the kingdom, particularly the Iberians. Amidst the chaos in 1497 Queen Lenore got pregnant once more. Francis Phoebus prayed for a healthy son, hoping for a match between the unborn baby and princess Anne of France.
John of Foix
“Francis Phoebus owed a great deal to Charles VIII’s invasion of Naples in 1494. The need to restrain French ambitions over the Italian peninsula were for a couple of years, of higher priority for Ferdinand than the issue of the kingdom he had long since coveted. But that time had been nothing mere than loan and in 1497 the debt would come calling to Francis once more…”
-Source: Phoebus the Dim – The last king of Navarre, Margaret Elijah Watson.
A royal hunting party in Irati forest on 9th of October 1497 would end with disastrous consequences for Navarre. The king and his brazen circle of friends had decided a boar hunt to entertain themselves, chasing the wild animal with horses, hounds and spears among the gold and brown coloured trees with carefree abandon. The slippery leaves coating the ground would prove Francis Phoebus’s undoing, his horse losing the footing and throwing its rider. The animal then fell over his master, crushing the man’s ribcage, leaving Francis in unbearable agony. The king died Pamplona a week later.
John of Foix made his move immediately, sending out messengers to France. His wife was the sister of Louis of Orléans, the cousin of Charles VIII of France. John thus hoped for support from France, even offering to betroth his daughter Germaine to the dauphin. The pregnant Leonor however could still determine the future of Navarre, if her unborn child were a male, then he had a stronger claim to the throne. But Lenore herself was a bastard and the marriage could be declared void by the courtes if sufficiently motivated.
Lenore’s child, born at on the 20th of May 1498 in Pamplona, was not the long-awaited prince of Viana. A daughter, Magdalena, had instead arrived. John of Foix wasted no time and tried to bully the courtes of Navarre for giving the infant heiress’s hand to his son Gaston. At the same time, Charles VIII had no intention of letting Navarre slip out of French hands, his second son Jean could become king as well as the dauphin.
And in Spain Ferdinand and Isabel were making plans of their own…
Magdalena of Navarre, princess of Viana
Sorry about the late update, I have had lot of work. Hope you like this update!
ouch...he should write a book in his afterlife called...101 days to die in the medieval era if you are in the upper class
he would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for those meddling BlueFlowwer.
And your ideas on the succession are wrong. Francis Phoebus’ legitimate heir was his sister Catherine. How many children still alive she had?
Magdalena is Francis's daughter so she comes before her dead aunt and her cousins.