The Heptameron of the Tales of Margaret, Queen of Navarre, Vol. 1

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MARGARET OF ANGOULÊME, QUEEN OF NAVARRE.



I.



Louise of Savoy; her marriage with the Count of Angouleme-

Birth of her children Margaret and Francis-Their father’s

early death-Louise and her children at Amboise-Margaret’s

studies and her brother’s pastimes-Marriage of Margaret

with the Duke of Alençon-Her estrangement from her husband-

Accession of Francis I.-The Duke of Alençon at Marignano-

Margaret’s Court at Alençon-Her personal appearance-Her

interest in the Reformation and her connection with Clement

Marot-Lawsuit between Louise of Savoy and the Constable de

Bourbon.

In dealing with the life and work of Margaret of Angouleme (1) it is necessary at the outset to refer to the mother whose influence and companionship served so greatly to mould her daughter’s career.



1 This Life of Margaret is based upon the memoir by M, Le

Roux de Lincy prefixed to the edition of the Heptameron

issued by the Société des Bibliophiles Français, but various

errors have been rectified, and advantage has been taken of

the researches of later biographers.

Louise of Savoy, daughter of Count Philip of Bresse, subsequently Duke of Savoy, was born at Le Pont d’Ain in 1477, and upon the death of her mother, Margaret de Bourbon, she married Charles d’Orléans, Count of Angoulême, to whom she brought the slender dowry of thirty-five thousand livres. (1) She was then but twelve years old, her husband being some twenty years her senior. He had been banished from the French Court for his participation in the insurrection of Brittany, and was living in straitened circumstances. Still, on either side the alliance was an honourable one.
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