Margarete von Österreich

Margaret of Austria was born in Brussels on January 10, 1480, the daughter of Maximilian of Austria and Mary of Burgundy. Her father was head of the House of Habsburg, while her mother was a daughter of Charles the Bold, the last Valois duke of Burgundy. At her baptism, she was given the name of her godmother, Margaret of York, Charles the Bold’s widow. She spent the first two years of her life in Brussels with her mother and her older brother Philip, the future king of Castile. After her mother’s death in March 1482, Margaret became an early pawn in European power politics. Maximilian sought to govern the Netherlands on behalf of his children, but encountered resistance from the Flemish cities. At the same time, the French king Louis XI took advantage of the Habsburg’s weakened position and applied military pressure. The Treaty of Arras eventually provided that Margaret would marry the French heir, Charles, with several Burgundian territories occupied by France assigned as her dowry. At the age of three, Margaret was sent to the French court. There she was raised as a “daughter of France” and, under the supervision of Anne of France, received a careful education, particularly in languages and the arts. She lived at the château of Plessis-lès-Tours, was treated with great affection, and was called the “little queen.” One of her childhood companions was Louise of Savoy, the future mother of the French king Francis I. Margaret herself grew fond of her fiancé and firmly expected to become queen of France. French political interests destroyed that hope. Charles VIII wanted to bind Brittany more closely to France by marrying its duchess, Anne, thereby preventing Maximilian from gaining influence there. Although Charles initially assured Margaret that he intended to honor their engagement, he had it dissolved in 1491 and married Anne of Brittany. Margaret remained in France for another two years while negotiations took place over the return of her dowry. The Treaty of Senlis, signed in 1493, finally restored her to her father and awarded her a large part of the disputed territories. She was received ceremonially on her return to the Netherlands, but the humiliation of the repudiation left a lasting mark on her attitude toward France. Margaret was soon married again for political reasons. In 1497, she married John of Aragon in Burgos, heir to the crowns of Castile and Aragon. The marriage lasted only a few months, as John died in October of that year after suffering from poor health. Margaret was pregnant, but gave birth to a stillborn child. She remained in Spain for two more years before returning to the Netherlands in 1500. In 1501, she married Philibert II, Duke of Savoy, known as “the Fair.” The marriage initially proved happy. Philibert introduced Margaret to hunting and to the political affairs of his duchy, increasingly allowing her to take part in its government. She guided Savoy in the interests of her father and brother, moving it away from French influence and into the Habsburg camp. She also challenged her influential half-brother René of Savoy, whom she accused of abusing his office and wasting resources. This marriage too ended prematurely: Philibert died after a hunting accident in 1504. At twenty-four, Margaret was widowed for the second time and remained childless. She rejected further marriage proposals, including one from England, and never married again. As a memorial to her husband and as an expression of her Burgundian heritage, Margaret commissioned the construction of the royal monastery of Brou near Bourg-en-Bresse. Work began in 1506, and the complex became an important monument of late Gothic architecture and Flemish art. Margaret personally selected artists and craftsmen and supervised the decoration. With its tombs, sculptures, altarpieces, and brightly glazed roof tiles, the church commemorated her family and the lost Duchy of Burgundy. After the unexpected death of her brother Philip the Fair in 1506, Maximilian recalled Margaret to the Netherlands. Philip had left several children there, while his wife, Joanna of Castile, fell into a severe emotional crisis after his death. Margaret therefore took charge of the upbringing of Eleanor, Charles, Isabella, and Mary. She particularly shaped the education of her nephew Charles, the future Emperor Charles V. On March 18, 1507, Maximilian also appointed Margaret regent and governor of the Habsburg Netherlands. She took up residence in Mechelen and governed the wealthy but politically turbulent provinces with great determination. At the same time, she maintained an influential court where artists, writers, and musicians worked. After Charles assumed power, he confirmed her in office, which she retained until her death. She also helped finance his election as King of the Romans and later as emperor, even though Francis I of France was competing for the imperial crown. The rivalry between Charles and Francis led to several wars during the 1520s. Margaret initially relied on alliances against France, but was equally willing to seek an agreement through negotiation. She renewed contact with Louise of Savoy, her former companion at the French court and by then the mother of Francis I. Together, the two women negotiated the Treaty of Cambrai, known as the Ladies’ Peace, in 1529, ending France’s participation in the Seventh Italian War. Margaret thus became a leading example of female diplomacy and political leadership during the Renaissance. Her considerable income from dowries, widow’s pensions, and estates enabled her to support art and learning on a large scale. Her court at Mechelen became a center of the Northern European Renaissance. She supported, among others, Erasmus, Juan Luis Vives, the musicians Josquin des Prez and Pierre de La Rue, and numerous painters and sculptors. Her extensive collection included paintings, tapestries, sculptures, and precious works of decorative art. Her library, containing hundreds of books, reflected both her intellectual interests and her political self-presentation. Margaret played several instruments and combined religious devotion with a strong interest in mythology, antiquity, and secular art. Margaret died in Mechelen on December 1, 1530, from complications following an injured and infected foot. Her remains were transferred in 1532 to the monastery of Brou, where she was buried beside her second husband. Her life was marked by early family losses, politically imposed marriages, and repeated widowhood. Only as regent and governor was she able to apply her abilities independently. As a politician, diplomat, educator, and patron of the arts, she left a lasting example of the political importance and cultural influence a woman could exercise at the head of a European princely house.