Isabella of Bavaria. French Queen Isabella of Bavaria - whore and monster or victim of intrigue

Introduction

Isabella of Bavaria (Elizabeth of Bavaria, Isabeau; French Isabeau de Bavière, German Elisabeth von Bayern, c. 1370, Munich - September 24, 1435, Paris) - Queen of France, wife of Charles VI the Mad, from 1403 periodically ruled the state.

After Charles VI began to suffer from bouts of insanity and power, in fact, passed to the queen, she was unable to pursue a firm political line and rushed from one court group to another. Isabella was extremely unpopular with the people, especially because of her extravagance. In 1420, she signed a treaty with the British at Troyes, recognizing the English King Henry V as heir to the French crown. In fiction, she has a persistent reputation as a libertine, although modern researchers believe that in many ways such a reputation could be the result of propaganda.

1. Biography

1.1. Childhood

Most likely, she was born in Munich, where she was baptized in the Church of Our Lady (the Romanesque cathedral on the site of the modern Frauenkirche) under the name "Elizabeth", traditional for German rulers since the time of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. The exact year of birth is unknown. The youngest of two children of Stephen III the Magnificent, Duke of Bavaria-Ingolstadt, and Taddei Visconti (granddaughter of the Duke of Milan Bernabò Visconti, deposed and executed by his nephew and co-ruler Gian Galeazzo Visconti). Little is known about the childhood of the future queen. It is established that she was educated at home, among other things, she was taught to read and write, Latin and received all the necessary skills for housekeeping in her future marriage. She lost her mother at the age of 11. It is believed that her father intended her for marriage with one of the minor German princes, so the proposal of the uncle of the French king, Philip the Bold, who asked for her hand for Charles VI, was a complete surprise. Isabella was fifteen at the time.

1.2. Preparing for marriage

King Charles V the Wise before his death obliged the regents of his son to find him a "German" wife. Indeed, from a purely political point of view, France would seriously benefit if the German princes supported her struggle with England. The Bavarians also benefited from this marriage. Evran von Wildenberg noted in his "Chronicle of the Dukes of Bavaria" (German. "Chronik und der fürstliche Stamm der Durchlauchtigen Fürsten und Herren Pfalzgrafen bey Rhein und Herzoge in Baiern")

Despite these considerations, Isabella's father Stephen the Magnificent was very wary of his daughter's proposed marriage. Among other things, he was worried that the French king was also offered as a wife Constance, daughter of the Earl of Lancaster, daughter of the King of Scotland, as well as Isabella, daughter of Juan I of Castile. The duke was also alarmed by some of the overly free customs of the French court. So, he knew that before marriage, it was customary to undress the bride in front of the ladies of the court so that they could thoroughly examine her and make a judgment about the ability of the future queen to bear children.

But still, in 1385, the princess was engaged to the seventeen-year-old king of France, Charles VI, at the suggestion of her uncle Frederick of Bavaria, who met with the French in Flanders in September 1383. The marriage had to be preceded by a "review", since the French king himself wanted to make a decision. Fearing rejection and the shame associated with it, Stephen sent his daughter to the French Amiens under the pretext of a pilgrimage to the relics of John the Baptist. Her uncle was to accompany her on the trip. Stefan's words, spoken to his brother before leaving, have been preserved:

The path of the motorcade to France ran through Brabant and Gennegau, where representatives of the younger branch of the Wittelsbach family ruled. Count of Gennegau Albert I of Bavaria gave the princess a magnificent reception in Brussels and offered his hospitality so that she could rest for a while before continuing her journey. His wife Margarita, sincerely attached to her cousin, during this time managed to give her several lessons in good manners and even completely update her wardrobe, which might seem too poor to the French king. Karl, who left Paris to meet on July 6 and arrived in Amiens the day before, was also agitated by what was happening and, according to the story of his valet La Riviere, did not let him sleep all night on the eve of the upcoming meeting, harassing him with the questions “What is she like?”, “When I will I see her?" etc.

1.3. Marriage

Meeting of Charles and Isabella. "Chronicles of Froissart"

Isabella arrived in Amiens on July 14, not knowing the real purpose of her trip. The French set the condition for the "review" of the intended bride. She was immediately brought before the king (dressed again, this time in a dress provided by the French, as her wardrobe seemed too modest). Froissart described this meeting and Karl's love for Isabella that broke out at first sight:

On July 17, 1385, the wedding took place in Amiens. The young people were blessed by Bishop of Amiens Jean de Rollandi. A few weeks after the wedding, it was ordered to knock out a medal in memory of this, depicting two cupids with torches in their hands, supposed to symbolize the fire of love between two spouses.

Early ("happy") period (1385-1392)

"Festive Years"

The day after the wedding, Charles was forced to leave for his troops, who were fighting against the British, who had captured the port of Damm. Then Isabella also left Amiens, having previously donated to the cathedral a large silver dish adorned with precious stones, according to legend, delivered from Constantinople, and until Christmas she remained in the castle of Creil under the care of Blanca of France, the widow of Philip of Orleans. She devoted this time to studying the French language and the history of France. The young couple spent the Christmas holidays in Paris, and Isabella, having entered the royal residence - the Saint-Paul Hotel, occupied the apartment that previously belonged to Jeanne of Bourbon, the mother of the king. That same winter, the queen's pregnancy was announced. At the beginning of the following year, the queen, along with her husband, attended the wedding of her sister-in-law, Catherine of France, who at the age of eight married Jean de Montpellier.

Later, the young couple settled in the castle of Bothe-sur-Marne, which Charles VI chose as his permanent residence. Charles, who was preparing an invasion of England, departed for the English Channel, while the pregnant queen was forced to return to the castle, where on September 26, 1386 she gave birth to her first child, named Charles in honor of his father. On the occasion of the baptism of the Dauphin, magnificent festivities were arranged, Count Karl de Dammartin became his godfather from the font, but the child died in December of the same year. To entertain his wife, Charles arranged incredibly magnificent festivities in honor of the next year 1387. On January 1, a ball was given at the Saint-Paul Hotel in Paris, which was attended by the king's brother Louis of Orleans and his uncle, Philip of Burgundy, who brought the queen "a golden table studded with precious stones".

Delacroix. "Louis d'Orléans demonstrating the charms of one of his mistresses."

On January 7 of the same year, Louis d'Orléans became engaged to Valentina, daughter of Gian Galeazzo Visconti. After the end of the festivities, the beginning of the royal boar hunt was announced, and Isabella, together with her court, accompanied her husband to Senlis, in July - to Val-de-Rei, and finally, in August - to Chartres, where she entered with great solemnity, in honor of the young queen staged an organ concert. At this time, in the words of Veronica Clan, Isabella's life was "an endless series of festivities." In autumn, the queen returned to Paris, where on November 28 she celebrated the marriage of one of her German ladies-in-waiting, Catherine de Fastovrin, to Jean Morel de Campreny with pomp. The bride's dowry, which amounted to 4 thousand livres, was fully paid by the queen, and 1 thousand of this amount went to pay the groom's debts, the rest of the money was used to purchase land that became Katerina's own dowry.

At the beginning of the following year, 1388, as Juvenal des Yursin noted in his chronicle, it was officially announced that Queen Isabella had “carried in her womb” for the second time. To provide for the unborn child, a new tax was introduced by a special decree - the "Queen's belt", which brought about 4 thousand livres from the sale of 31 thousand barrels of wine. The pregnant queen had to stay in Paris in the castle of Saint-Ouen, which previously belonged to the Order of the Star, while the king continued to have fun hunting in the vicinity of Gisors, however, the couple constantly corresponded. On June 14, 1388, at ten o'clock in the morning, a girl named Jeanne was born, but she lived only two years.

On May 1 of the following 1389, the queen, along with her husband, attended a magnificent ceremony of knighting the royal cousins - Louis and Charles of Anjou. Festivities in honor of this event continued for six days, during which tournaments were replaced by religious ceremonies. Michel Pentoine, a Benedictine monk, wrote in his chronicle:

The names of the lovers Pentoine did not name, however, modern researchers are inclined to think that the queen and Louis of Orleans were meant. Indeed, the king's brother at that time enjoyed a reputation as a heartthrob and a dandy, in the contemptuous expression of Tom Bazin, he "neighed like a horse around beautiful ladies." There is another point of view - as if it was not about Isabella, but about Margaret of Bavaria, the wife of the Duke of Burgundy Jean the Fearless. It is also noted that the queen was four months pregnant during the festivities, and she endured her position quite hard - which already casts doubt on the assumption of adultery.

Isabella's Entry into Paris

On August 22, 1389, it was decided to arrange a solemn entry of the queen into the capital of France. Isabella was already well acquainted with Paris, where she spent the winter for four years, but the king, who loved magnificent festivities and ceremonies, insisted on organizing a particularly solemn, theatrical procession. The queen, who was then six months pregnant, was carried in a stretcher, accompanied on horseback by Valentine, the wife of Louis of Orleans. Juvenal des Yursin, who left a detailed description of this day, wrote that Paris was richly decorated, wine fountains beat on the squares, from which cupbearers filled goblets, offering them to anyone who wished. At the building of the Tritite hotel, the minstrels presented the battle of the crusaders with the Arabs of Palestine, and at the head of the Christian army was Richard the Lionheart, who invited the king of France to join him to fight the "infidels". A young girl, representing Mary with a baby in her arms, greeted and blessed the queen, while the boys, representing angels, descended with the help of a theater machine from the height of the arch and placed a golden crown on Isabella's head. Later, the queen heard mass at Notre Dame de Paris and donated to the Virgin the crown presented to her by the "angels", while the Bureau de la Rivière and Jean Lemercier immediately placed an even more expensive crown on her head.

At the same time, several townspeople brought confusion into the procession, trying to break into the first rows of spectators, however, the law enforcement officers quickly restored calm, rewarding the violators with stick blows. Later, the cheerful young king admitted that these violators were himself and several close associates, and their backs were hurt for a long time. The next day, Isabella was solemnly crowned in the Sainte-Chapelle in the presence of the king and courtiers. Her wedding and entry into Paris are the most documented episodes of her life; in most chronicles, only the dates of birth of her 12 children are indicated in the same detail. Historians agree that if not for the tragedy of her husband's insanity, Isabella would have spent the rest of her life in quiet anonymity, like most medieval queens.

In November of the same year, the third child was born - Princess Isabella, the future Queen of England. Later, the queen accompanied her husband on his inspection trip to the south of France and made a pilgrimage to the Cistercian abbey in Maubuisson and then to Melun, where on January 24, 1391 she gave birth to her fourth child, Princess Jeanne.

Bavarian was born in Paris in the royal residence - ... 000 ecu. Charles VI and Isabel Bavarian retained the titles until their deaths...

Isabella of Bavaria

(born in 1371 - died in 1435)

Queen of France. Wife of the French King Charles VI the Mad. In the spring of 1403, she declared herself regent. She became famous for her depraved lifestyle and a number of bloody crimes. She used her many love affairs in the struggle for power.

Isabella of Bavaria, better known as Queen Isabeau, is one of the darkest figures in European history. She was notorious for her cruelty, selfishness, passion for intrigues, indefatigable lust for power and improbable promiscuity at that time. No wonder the Marquis de Sade himself became interested in the details of her alcove adventures, writing The Secret History of Isabella of Bavaria, Queen of France, which was first published only in 1953.

The prelude to the appearance of Isabella on the historical stage was the death of the French king Charles V. On his deathbed, he wished that his heir, also Charles, would marry one of the German princesses. The regent for the twelve-year-old Dauphin, the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Bold, immediately began looking for a bride. They lasted for several years. Finally, the choice of regent settled on Isabella, daughter of the Duke of Bavaria, Stephen II.

An embassy was sent to the duke. The ambassadors were sure of success. The daughter of a poor, by the standards of the French, provincial ruler was offered the crown of the strongest state in Europe. However, the duke, knowing about the custom of subjecting the king's bride to a delicate examination to make sure of her virginity, decided to refuse the matchmakers. He considered this procedure humiliating and, probably not without reason, he was afraid that his daughter would be returned to her parents' house in disgrace. In addition, rumors reached him about the strangeness of the young king, associated with increased sexual needs.

Despite the refusal, Philip renewed the proposal through the Duchess of Brabant. She persuaded Stefan to agree. The Duke, however, set a condition. Before the matter was finally settled, Isabella and Carl had to "accidentally" meet, unaware of the plans for them.

The meeting was to take place in the monastery of St. John near Amiens. But first, Isabeau stopped by the Duchess of Brabant to get a few lessons in etiquette. The noble matchmaker did not stint on advice. In addition, she gave Isabeau fashionable outfits. Those that the girl took with her were not suitable for a lush French court.

July 15, 1385 Isabella arrived in Amiens and was introduced to the king. The amorous Karl was shocked by the beauty of his fifteen-year-old cousin (Isabeau was his cousin). The king was so impatient to possess the bride that he decided to marry immediately. Disregarding custom, he insisted that the wedding took place two days later here in Amiens. As a result, the bride could not even prepare a wedding dress for herself, and the ladies of the court were left without the magnificent toilets that rely on such cases.

In the morning, after a stormy night, the newlyweds went to the castle of Bote-sur-Marne, the former permanent residence of Charles VI. And after a few days, the young queen realized that her husband's affairs were going very badly. Seventeen-year-old Karl did not want to do anything other than entertainment of a far from innocent nature. Orgies in the castle were commonplace. True, after his marriage he settled down - the sensual Isabeau fully satisfied his needs - but the courtiers continued to lead their former lives.

The king was not involved in state affairs. Everything was in the hands of his three uncles - the Dukes of Burgundy, Anjou and Berry, who did not hesitate to run their hands into the royal treasury. Isabella quickly figured out what was happening, but, being smart enough, she did not show it.

After some time, Karl went to fight. The role of a faithful wife, longing for the night alone, did not suit the young queen. Soon she noticed the handsome young courtier Bois-Bourdon and began showing him signs of attention. The young man did not hesitate for a long time. He confessed his love to the queen, and on the same night they became lovers.

The love affair turned out to be useful for Isabeau in many ways. Bois-Bourdon introduced her to the course of all palace intrigues. Once Isabella told him that the king was too weak and she should rule the state. And after a while she told her lover a plan to eliminate the regents. She decided to win over the king's brother, the Duke of Touraine.

Bois-Bourdon was struck by such a quick transformation of the "simple" into a sophisticated intriguer. He feared that the duke would force him out of the queen's heart. But Isabeau reassured him, saying that the bond of convenience would not prevent them from indulging in love for their own pleasure.

Very soon, the fifteen-year-old Duke Louis of Touraine was seduced. The queen did not remain indifferent to the handsome courageous young man. But in the morning she did not forget, as if by the way, to note that it was necessary to stop the outrages that were happening at court. The quick-witted duke immediately agreed with her and offered to join forces to eliminate the regents. Isabella was pleased. Left alone, she quickly dressed and went to Bois-Bourdon to report the results. The next night was given to him.

However, the queen was occupied not only with intrigues. Two lovers and a husband were not enough for her. To have fun, Isabella, following the example of many queens of the Middle Ages, organized the Court of Love. But how different it was from the court of the already mentioned Eleanor of Aquitaine! The ministry of love reigned there, the members of the circle followed a special code that could not be violated without losing honor. Here, everyone sought to expose their vices to the public. When the king left

Isabella arranged "holidays". The guests appeared at them, dressed in very peculiar masquerade costumes. For example, they glued feathers on a naked body. And some people did without clothes at all. The "holiday" usually ended with an orgy.

Passionate sleepless nights seemed to only increase the queen's energy in the political field. Having persuaded Cardinal Laon to her side, in 1388, with his help, she achieved that power passed to the king. In fact, this meant that he would rule only at the behest of the queen.

Meanwhile, the strangeness of the king gradually intensified. In the summer of 1392 Charles finally lost his mind. He began to make crazy speeches and run through the streets, "escaping" from the courtiers. Contemporaries believed that the reason for this was a strong fright. At the instigation of Isabeau, the Duke of Touraine arranged so that a beggar suddenly ran up to the king on the road and said that he needed to save himself, since he had been betrayed. Karl went on a rampage and managed to kill several people before he was captured.

However, the lovers miscalculated. Everyone around was sure that the king could no longer rule. But when the queen proposed to make the Duke of Touraine regent, the uncles of the king opposed. In their opinion, the duke was too young. As a result, the reins of government were again in the hands of the former regents.

Then Isabella decided to kill her husband. In this case, the duke could become king. A little recovered, Karl decided to arrange a clownish festival. Several courtiers dressed up as savages and began to dance the "Saracenic dance". They were dressed in a linen drenched in resin, to which tow was attached. The Duke of Touraine, as if by accident, dropped the torch, and in a moment all the dancers were engulfed in flames. The king was saved by the Duchess of Berry. She covered him with her skirts and put out the flames. However, the shock was not in vain. Carl's mind faltered again. The king did not recognize his wife and behaved aggressively.

Isabella, together with the Duke, moved to Barbiet Castle, leaving her husband in the care of negligent servants. The unfortunate madman walked in rags, overgrown, lice and covered with pimples. When he regained consciousness, Isabeau returned. Without even bothering to change the incredibly dirty sheets, she went to bed with her husband in order to demand the Duchy of Orleans from Charles for her lover with caresses and persuasion, in which, of course, she succeeded.

The newly-minted Louis d'Orleans and Isabella gradually took power into their own hands. Their relationship was no secret to either the courtiers or the people of France. Everyone resented the debauchery that reigned at court. But dissatisfied, by order of the queen, were immediately sent to prison.

But rumors began to reach Isabeau about the numerous betrayals of the duke. Offended, Isabeau began to think about revenge. She chose Duke John of Burgundy, nicknamed the Fearless, as her instrument. This greedy and treacherous man has long seen in Louis the main obstacle in the struggle for the throne. In addition, he knew that the Duke of Orleans had seduced his wife. With the news of this, John went to the queen and offered to kill Louis. Together they developed an insidious plan and undertook its execution.

On the appointed day, Isabella asked Louis to spend the evening with her. With affectionate reproaches, she aroused remorse in her unfaithful lover. Soon both were in bed. But at that moment there was a knock at the door and the king's valet entered, privy to the details of the conspiracy. As agreed beforehand, he said that the Duke was urgently summoned by the King. Louis put his clothes in order and hurried to the palace of Saint-Paul. On the way, John's men attacked him and killed him.

However, it was not possible to hide the participation of the Duke of Burgundy in this crime. There were witnesses who saw how the killers hid in his palace. John had to flee to Flanders. After some time, he nevertheless returned to France, and civil strife broke out in the country between his supporters and supporters of the Orleans family.

Then John invited Isabella to seduce the son of the deceased, Duke Philippe of Orleans, in order to find out his secret plans. In this she succeeded, but she could not make him a toy in her hands.

Impunity finally turned the queen's head. Accompanied by several court ladies, she often left the palace at night. Disguised as prostitutes, women sought adventure and, of course, found it. This was reported to the king. He was also informed that Bois-Bourdon, who was still her lover, was the main confidant of the queen in all matters of this kind. Charles immediately went to the Palace of Vincennes, where the queen's court was located at that time. The first person he met was Bois-Bourdon. The favorite was captured and imprisoned. During interrogation, he told a lot. So much so that the king ordered his wife's lover to be sewn up in a sack and drowned in the Seine.

The son of Charles and Isabella, Dauphin Charles, after consulting with the constable of France, Count of Armagnac, ordered the kidnapping of his mother in order to prevent new intrigues and disgraceful acts of the royal family. The riches she had hidden were confiscated, and Isabeau herself ended up in Tours under heavy guard. In prison, she bitterly complained that her captors did not allow her to take clothes and jewelry with them.

It seemed that the power and adventures of the queen came to an end. However, she managed to call on the help of the Duke of Burgundy, sending him her golden seal. He did not hesitate and soon released his mistress. Immediately, the queen entered into an open struggle with her husband and son, whom she hated fiercely. She declared herself the regent of the kingdom, contacted the English king Henry V (recall that there was a Hundred Years War between France and England). The English monarch was offered the hand of the queen's daughter, Catherine. This marriage automatically made him Karl's heir. In 1420, a peace treaty was concluded in Troyes on these terms. Soon, Henry married Catherine and, according to the agreement, was recognized as regent and heir to the French throne.

So Isabella deprived her son Charles of the prospect of becoming king. But her opponents continued to support him. Then the Queen began to spread rumors that King Charles was not the father of the Dauphin. This was readily believed. The prince himself began to doubt his right to the throne. Only the Virgin of Orleans could calm him down, assuring

Charles is that he is the rightful heir to the throne. Nevertheless, his son, Louis XI, who considered his grandmother a "notorious whore", once stated that he did not know for sure who his grandfather really was.

This, however, happened much later. And in the described time, the main goal of the queen was the destruction of her son. And she sent the Duke of Burgundy to capture Charles. The attempt failed. The dauphin's associates killed John when he tried to fulfill Isabella's wish.

The death of her lover shocked Isabeau. She knew that no man would ever love her again. Only John, hoping for support and out of habit, continued to maintain an intimate relationship with the terribly fat and flabby Isabella. From now on, the queen was supported only by hatred for her son. In the fight against him, she decided to rely on Philip of Burgundy, the son of John the Fearless. He passionately fell in love with her daughter, gentle and kind Michelle. Isabeau gladly agreed to their marriage, but soon noticed that the young Duchess of Orleans, who loved her brother very much, was trying to reconcile him with her husband. Then Isabella, without flinching, poisoned her daughter. It is not known whether the duke guessed about the mother-in-law's crime. However, his attitude towards her changed dramatically for the worse.

In the autumn of 1422 Charles VI died. As a result of the intrigues of Isabeau, two people claimed the throne of France: the Dauphin Charles and the son of Henry of England, who had also died shortly before, ten-month-old Henry VI. The country was torn by war. But the Maiden of Orleans managed to capture Orleans, inspire the French to resist the British and crown Charles in Reims.

Power eluded Isabella's hands. The last time she got involved in the fight, she tried to kill Philip of Burgundy, who recognized Charles VII as his king. But the plot failed, and she had to take refuge in her palace in Paris. Approximate left the queen. People despised and hated her. Isabella was forced to wear old dresses, puzzled over how to pay for food and firewood. Finally, on September 30, 1435, she died. Only a servant and a priest accompanied the deceased on her last journey. And the Parisians lazily gossiped about the adventures of the cruel Queen Isabeau, who used her beauty to harm everyone who came across her.

From the book of Leonardo da Vinci author Dzhivelegov Alexey Karpovich

From the book How idols left. The last days and hours of people's favorites the author Razzakov Fedor

YURIEVA ISABELLA YURIEVA ISABELLA (singer who bore the title "Queen of the Romance"; died on January 20, 2000 at the 101st year of her life). Recently, Yurieva lived alone, having long buried all her loved ones. Vovochka's son died of a heart defect when he was barely a year old. She almost outlived her husband.

From the book Columbus author Svet Yakov Mikhailovich

ISABELLA AND FERDINAND AGAINST JOAN II (BULLS ON THE DIVISION OF THE WORLD) The royal court in 1493 stopped its wanderings for a while. In December 1492, a Catalan made an attempt on the life of King Ferdinand in Barcelona and severely wounded him. The doctors kept the royal couple in the city, and

From the book Memory that warms the heart the author Razzakov Fedor

DAMNED ISABELLA On Wednesday, November 27, the flotilla pulled into Navidad Bay. Around midnight, a canoe filled with Indians approached the Maria Galante. Two of them boarded and handed over to the Admiral, on behalf of the Guacanagari, several golden masks. But these ambassadors of the great cacique

From the book Life on the old Roman road [Tales and stories] the author Totovents Vaan

YURIEVA Isabella YURIEVA Isabella (singer who bore the title "Queen of the Romance"; died on January 20, 2000 at the 101st year of her life). Recently, Yuryeva lived alone, having long buried all her loved ones. Vovochka's son died of a heart defect when he was barely a year old. She almost outlived her husband.

From the book Strong Women. men were afraid of them author Medvedev Felix Nikolaevich

6. Isabella Serrano Lying in the south of Spain, Andalusia has long been famous for wines and dances. Women there wear wide bright skirts of different colors: the lower one is amber-yellow, they wear blue on it, and on top - scarlet like blood. Skirts with a wide colored stripe are visible

From the book of Saci-suta. He was killed for his faith author Kudasheva Joanna

SHE SINGED A WHOLE CENTURY. ISABELLA YURIEVA The death of Isabella Yurieva is not just the physical death of a person. This is a unique gerontological fact worthy of the Guinness Book of Records - the great singer lived her life, announcing three centuries!!! She was born in October 1899, lived

From the book The most piquant stories and fantasies of celebrities. Part 1 by Amills Roser

From the memoirs of Yagya devi dasi (Isabella Buchal) - Saci-suta always served the devotees with great pleasure. Large as an elephant, tall, quiet, at the same time he was modest, not visible and not heard. He was doing something all the time. He was very humble. Everyone marveled at him

From the book Love Letters of Great People. Women author Team of authors

Isabella I of Castile Compromising stockingsIsabella I of Castile (Isabella Catholic) (1451-1504) - Queen of Castile and Leon. The wife of Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose dynastic marriage marked the beginning of the unification of Spain into a single state. For many

From the book by Meryem Uzerli. Actresses of the "Magnificent Century" by Benoit Sophia

Elisabeth of Bavaria, Empress Sissi "Without panties, of course, fresh" Elisabeth (Amalia-Eugenia-Elizabeth) (1837-1898) - the wife of Emperor Franz Joseph I, by birth Princess of Bavaria. In the book Anabel Sais "Sissi, the incomprehensible Empress" we read that Franz Joseph, sullen

From the book I am Faina Ranevskaya author Ranevskaya Faina Georgievna

From the book Naughty Princesses author McRobbie Linda Rodriguez

Isabella Mason (Mrs. Beaton) to Sam Beaton (May 26, 1856, sent from Epsom) My dear Sam, as two or three small points in your message yesterday puzzled me greatly, I decided to write and ask for an explanation. You will surely say that I did

From the author's book

Fictional Isabella Fortuna and actress Melike Yalova Talking about the mutual feelings of the main characters of the series in love, the audience expresses their attitude towards other persons competing with the favorite of the Sultan Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska. Love is the main theme of all reasoning, but in remarks

From the author's book

In 1960, the widowed sister of Ranevskaya, Isabella Georgievna Allen, returned to her homeland from Turkey. At that time, it was not so easy to arrange this - Ranevskaya had to go through the authorities for a long time and use all her connections so that her sister was allowed to return. At the end

From the author's book

Isabella (1295-1358) Princess, nicknamed the French Wolf War-torn EnglandThe French princess Isabella was only twelve years old when, in 1308, she arrived in England by ship to the court of Edward II, her husband. twenty-four year old

One of the enviable advantages of the historian, this lord of bygone eras, is that, surveying his possessions, it is enough for him to touch the ancient ruins and decayed corpses with a pen, and palaces already appear before his eyes and the dead are resurrected: as if obeying the voice of God, according to his will naked skeletons are again covered with living flesh and dressed in elegant clothes in the boundless expanses of human history, numbering three millennia. It is enough for him, at his own whim, to identify his chosen ones, to call them by their names, and they immediately raise the gravestones, throw off their shroud, responding, like Lazarus, to the call of Christ: “I am here, Lord, what do You want from me?”

Of course, one must have a firm step in order not to be afraid to descend into the depths of history; in a commanding voice to question the shadows of the past; confident hand to write down what they dictate. For the dead sometimes keep terrible secrets, which the gravedigger buried with them in the grave. Dante's hair turned gray while he listened to the story of Count Ugolino, and his eyes became so gloomy, his cheeks were covered with such a deathly pallor that, when Virgil again brought him out of hell to earth, the Florentine women, guessing where this strange traveler was returning from, told their children , pointing at him with his finger: "Look at this gloomy, mourning man - he descended into the underworld."

Leaving aside the genius of Dante and Virgil, we can well compare ourselves with them, for the gate that leads to the tomb of the abbey of Saint-Denis and is about to open before us is in many ways like the gates of hell: and above them could stand the same the very inscription. So, if we had Dante's torch in our hands, and Virgil our guide, we would not have long to wander among the tombs of the three reigning families, buried in the crypts of the ancient abbey, to find the grave of a murderer whose crime would be as heinous as the crime of the Archbishop Ruggieri , or the grave of the victim, whose fate is as deplorable as the fate of the prisoner of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

In this vast cemetery, in a niche on the left, there is a modest tomb, near which I always bow my head in thought. On its black marble, two statues are carved next to each other - a man and a woman. For four centuries now they have been resting here with their hands folded in prayer: a man asks the Almighty how he angered Him, and a woman asks for forgiveness for her betrayal. These statues are statues of a madman and his unfaithful wife; for two whole decades, the insanity of one and the passions of love of the other served in France as the cause of bloody strife, and it is no coincidence that on the deathbed that connected them, after the words: “Here lie King Charles VI the Blessed and Queen Isabella of Bavaria, his wife” - the same hand inscribed: “ Pray for them."

Here, in Saint-Denis, we will begin leafing through the dark chronicle of this amazing reign, which, according to the poet, "passed under the sign of two mysterious ghosts - an old man and a shepherdess" - and left only a card game, this mocking and bitter symbol, as a legacy to posterity. the eternal precariousness of empires and the human condition.

In this book, the reader will find a few bright, joyful pages, but too many will bear red traces of blood and black traces of death. For God was pleased that everything in the world be painted in these colors, so that he even turned them into the very symbol of human life, making it the motto of the word: "Innocence, passions and death."

And now let's open our book, as God opens the book of life, on its bright pages: blood-red and black pages await us ahead.

Sunday, August 20, 1389, crowds of people began to flock to the road from Saint-Denis to Paris from the very early morning. On this day, Princess Isabella, daughter of Duke Etienne of Bavaria and wife of King Charles VI, for the first time in the rank of Queen of France, made a solemn entry into the capital of the kingdom.

To justify the general curiosity, it must be said that extraordinary things were told about this princess: they said that already at the first meeting with her - it was on Friday July 15, 1385 - the king fell passionately in love with her and with great reluctance agreed with his uncle, the Duke of Burgundy postpone wedding preparations until Monday.

However, this marriage was looked upon in the kingdom with great hope; it was known that, dying, King Charles V expressed a desire that his son marry a Bavarian princess, in order to thereby equal the English king Richard, who married the sister of the German king. The flaming passion of the young prince corresponded in the best possible way to the last will of his father; in addition, the matrons of the court, who examined the bride, certified that she was able to give the crown an heir, and the birth of a son a year after the wedding only confirmed their experience. Not without sinister soothsayers, of course, who are at the beginning of any reign: they prophesied evil, because Friday is not a suitable day for matchmaking. However, nothing has yet confirmed their predictions, and the voices of these people, if they dared to speak aloud, would be drowned in joyful cries, which, on the day with which we begin our story, involuntarily burst from a thousand lips.

Since the main characters of this historical chronicle - by birthright or by their position at court - were next to the queen or followed in her retinue, we will now, with the reader's permission, move along with the solemn cortege, already ready to set off and waiting only for the Duke Louis of Touraine , the king's brother, whom some said about worrying about his toilet, or the night of love, others claimed, had already been delayed for half an hour. This way of getting to know people and events, although not new, is very convenient; moreover, in the picture that we will try to sketch, relying on old chronicles, other strokes, perhaps, will not be devoid of interest and originality.

We have already said that this Sunday, on the road from Saint-Denis to Paris, so many people gathered here, as if people had come here by order. The road was literally littered with people, they stood close to each other, like ears in a field, so that this mass of human bodies, so dense that the slightest shock experienced by any part of it was instantly transmitted to everyone else, began to sway, like the way a ripening field sways with a light breeze.

At eleven o'clock, loud screams resounded somewhere ahead and a thrill ran through the crowd, finally made it clear to the exhausted people that something important was about to happen. And indeed, a detachment of sergeants soon appeared, dispersing the crowd with sticks, and behind them followed Queen Joan and her daughter, the Duchess of Orleans, for whom the sergeants cleared the way among this human sea. To prevent its waves from closing behind high-ranking persons, they were followed by two rows of horse guards - one thousand two hundred horsemen, selected from among the most noble Parisian citizens. The riders who made up this honorary escort were dressed in long coats of green and scarlet silk, their heads were covered with caps, the ribbons of which fell to their shoulders or fluttered in the wind when its light gust refreshed the suddenly hot air, mixed with sand and dust raised by hooves. horses and walking feet. The people pushed back by the guards stretched out on both sides of the road, so that the liberated part of it was like a canal, bordered by two rows of citizens, and along this canal the royal cortege could move almost without interference, in any case, much easier than it could be. guess.

In those distant times, people went out to meet their king not out of simple curiosity: they had a feeling of respect and love for his person. And if the then monarchs sometimes condescended to the people, then the people even in their thoughts did not dare to rise to them. Such processions in our time are not complete without shouting, without scolding in the square and police intervention; here everyone tried to settle down as best they could, and since the road passed over the fields surrounding it, people tried with all their might to climb as high as possible so that it was more convenient to look. Instantly, they occupied all the trees and roofs in the area, so that there was not a single tree that, from the crown to the lower branches, would not be hung with outlandish fruits, and uninvited guests appeared in the houses, from the attic to the lower floor. Those who did not dare to climb so high settled themselves along the sides of the road; women stood on tiptoe, children climbed on the shoulders of their fathers - in a word, one way or another, but everyone found a place for himself and could see what was happening, either looking at him over the mounted guards, or modestly looking into the gaps between the legs of their horses. As soon as the uproar caused by the appearance of Queen Joan and the Duchess of Orleans, who were traveling to the palace where the king was waiting for them, had barely died down, at the turn of the main rue Saint-Denis, the long-awaited stretcher of Queen Isabella appeared. The people who came here, as already mentioned, really wanted to look at the young princess, who was not yet nineteen years old and with whom France pinned her hopes.

Upon learning that Duke Etienne of Bavaria has a delightful fourteen-year-old daughter, Isabeau, Philip the Bold asked to marry her to the King of France. Charles VI was then seventeen. He was endowed with an almost painful sensuality, which was similar to the sexual obsession about which the churchmen so lamented. Therefore, his eyes shone so much when they described the beautiful German princess to him ...

On July 15, well-dressed Isabeau arrived in Amiens, and she was immediately brought before the king. Froissart described this meeting and Charles' love for Isabeau in a breathtaking way:

“When she, embarrassed, approached him and bowed low, the king carefully took her arm and gently looked into her eyes. He felt that she was very pleasant to him and that his heart was filled with love for this young and beautiful girl. He dreamed of only one thing: that she would rather become his wife.

The wedding took place on July 18 in the cathedral in Amiens. Everything happened so hastily that most of the ladies of the court did not have enough time to dress up luxuriously, as was customary for such ceremonies. Even Isabeau of Bavaria did not have a wedding dress. Nevertheless, the festivities were lavish.

A magnificent banquet was held in the episcopal palace, where counts and barons served. Charles VI, who had been striving for three days to know the joys of love, took the young wife to his bedroom. After the wedding, the young couple settled in the castle of Bothe-sur-Marne, which Charles VI chose as his permanent residence.

Golden time

Isabella, on the one hand, excited the intriguers, on the other hand, gave the young sovereign complete sexual satisfaction. And the fact that he managed to curb his senses in this way was very useful to him. He became reasonable, he was possessed by a great thirst for action. And this allowed him to finally take up public affairs.

One morning, after his usual nightly amusements, in which he looked like an excellent man, intoxicated with his own pride, he got out of bed full of ambitious ideas. Charles decided to resume hostilities against England. A few days later he left for Flanders to review his fleet ...

Isabeau was left alone in Bota. This passionate princess, already accustomed to amorous entertainment, felt that loneliness weighed on her. And, tired of peering into the distance, waiting for Karl to appear on the horizon, she decided to take a closer look at the men surrounding her.

First Favorites

The first person she noticed was a well-built, very affable young man. His name was Bois-Bourdon. Isabeau fell in love with this handsome nobleman. She was only fifteen years old, but she made decisions quickly. The night after the explanation, she became Bois-Bourdon's mistress.

After several days of intimacy, the young favorite not only conquered the power-hungry Isabeau, but also introduced her to the intrigues in Botha. The queen, without the slightest hesitation, agreed to participate in palace intrigues and frankly admitted that she was ready to use any means to achieve her exaltation. She began to think about a plan to fight for the throne.

Before the eyes of the astonished Bois-Bourdon, the young Empress turned into a treacherous politician. She cold-bloodedly proposed options for eliminating the three regents who could prevent her rise.

Queen Isabella of Bavaria. Fragment of a medieval miniature

Then Isabeau decided that it was necessary to achieve closer ties with the Duke of Touraine, the king's brother, a handsome, ardent and passionate young man. He was fifteen years old, but he looked all eighteen. In addition, he already had some experience in love affairs.

The young Duke of Touraine, realizing what was required of him, tried to prove to his delightful queen that he was a master, as they said then, in the matter of "planting his family tree." They spent such a stormy night that Isabeau, subdued by an ardent young man, gave herself over to voluptuousness and completely forgot about the political plans that forced her to choose the king's brother as her lover.

royal orgies

Isabeau did not immediately decide to get rid of the regents. Not wanting to speed things up, she patiently waited for time to work for her. In the meantime, the queen continued to have fun.

Just at that time, Isabeau created a very obscene "love salon" in Vincennes. In the absence of the king, peculiar festivities were held there with dressing up. Someone changed into a bird (with feathers glued to the body), someone into a fish, or simply appeared in the costumes of Adam and Eve.

These bacchanalia with abundant libations lasted for whole nights. The young and passionate queen herself has repeatedly taken part in them. Such entertainments were ways to wear out any woman of the best health. They were, of course, calculated to satisfy the sensual Isabeau, the strongest and most self-confident woman in France.

Isabella is said to have led an extremely luxurious lifestyle. In particular, historians have calculated that the expenses of the queen’s personal court, which amounted to 30 thousand livres under Joan of Bourbon, increased to 60 under Isabella. court physician.

Sometimes she found the strength to leave these violent gatherings in order to again participate in political intrigues and begin a merciless struggle with the regents who interfered with her. Extramarital affairs did not prevent the queen from showing herself to be a kind and passionate wife.

During the first two years of her marriage, she had a son and a daughter, for which Charles VI was very grateful to her. The king was as gentle with her as in the first days of their life together. Although Karl was often fond of and courting pretty ladies-in-waiting, he still took care of his wife, endlessly presenting her with magnificent gifts.

The king decided to organize a punitive campaign against the Duke of Brittany, who was hiding the Marquis de Craon. Alas! During this campaign, terrible grief shook France. Charles VI began to show a very strong nervousness. He was repeatedly seen "making gestures unworthy of His Majesty the King", he was infuriated by any cry of a child or the noise of a door being opened.

Delacroix. "Charles VI and Odette de Chamdiver" - one of the attacks of the king's madness

Madness of the King

Isabeau decided to take advantage of his morbid condition and get the King of France declared insane. On the way, an incident was to occur with the king, all the details of which she carefully foresaw and which would inspire such fear in the king that no doctor could ever cure him.

The Duke of Touraine knew about this plan in great detail, since the mission was entrusted to him. And this plan nearly failed. The king did have a seizure, during which Charles VI killed four people.

The queen immediately gave the event great publicity in order to force Charles VI to abdicate. “The Duke of Touraine must be put on the throne,” Isabeau told everyone. However, the guardians of Charles VI were not going to give up the reins of government, referring to the infancy of Louis.

At the end of August, on the orders of his guardians, Charles VI was taken to the castle of the city of Creil. On June 15, 1394, the poor sovereign had a relapse of the disease, and, as the chronicler reports, "his mind became very clumsy." Isabeau left the residence of Saint-Paul and settled with her lover, the Duke of Touraine, in a mansion in Barbette, which she had acquired.

While the King of France roamed the corridors of Saint-Paul in his dirty rags, Isabeau led a very carefree life in his residence at Barbette. However, magnificent festivities and stormy nights did not make her forget about power-hungry plans.

Learning that the illness of Charles VI began to recede, she visited him, spoke tenderly with him and even agreed to share the bed, despite the disgustingly dirty sheet. Embracing him, she inspired the king with the idea of increasing the possessions for the Duke of Touraine by separating from the royal possessions of the Duchy of Orleans. The king agreed, and his brother became Duke of Orleans.

Political assassinations

The relationship between the Queen and the Duke of Orleans, which so outraged the people, caused even greater indignation among the nobles, who wanted to take advantage of the illness of Charles VI in order to achieve the desired titles and privileges. Among them, the most dissatisfied was John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, the king's cousin. The queen could not stand this careerist, who interfered with the implementation of her plans.

But then she realized that the Duke of Burgundy was brave, cunning, treacherous, cynical and depraved. With such a lover and ally, she could be sure of achieving her goals and decided to replace Louis (who, however, was already beginning to bother her) with the Duke of Burgundy.

It was not an easy task for her to seduce this formidable young man. And Isabeau succeeded. One dark night, the Duke of Orleans was killed. A terrible scandal erupted. It soon became known throughout the city that the duke had been killed on the orders of his cousin. John the Fearless miraculously managed to escape from Paris.

In the end, the kingdom was divided into two camps: some supported the Duke of Burgundy, others were on the side of the Duchess of Orleans. Meanwhile, the English king was preparing for armed action.

internecine war

The first battle of this internecine war, which lasted twenty-six years and destroyed the kingdom, took place at Agincourt on October 14, 1415. Thirty thousand people were killed in it, the cavalry was completely destroyed, the Duke of Orleans and the Duke of Bourbon were captured.

Despite the tragedy that broke out in the country, the queen did not want to change her habits and began to organize festivities, which all chroniclers report with indignation. Sometimes she just came up with obscene ideas.

For example, she loved with several ladies-in-waiting, disguised as prostitutes, to walk the streets of Paris, satisfying the lustful desires of university professors ... After a secret investigation, it was found that Bois-Bourdon was the inspirer of all intrigues and a favorite. The king sentenced him to death.

A few days after the execution of Bois Bourdon, the Dauphin Charles, together with the constable d'Armagnac, ordered the arrest of the queen, and she was sent under reliable guard, first to Blois, then to Tours. There she eked out a very painful existence.

She managed to escape from there with the help of the Duke of Burgundy. But soon John the Fearless died in an attempted coup. After the death of her lover, Isabeau hated her son, the 16-year-old Dauphin Charles, even more. She spread rumors that he was illegitimate and her son Charles VII was disinherited as a result.

Indeed, the queen deeply mourned the death of her lover. She mourned not just a lover, but her last lover. She was already fifty years old, in a few months she had become incredibly stout. Isabeau was well aware that there was no chance of luring beautiful, young and passionate gentlemen into her bed.

Assassination of John the Fearless

Battle with the Dauphin

Having charged her son with the murder of John the Fearless at a time when the Burgundian group was the most significant in France, she was sure that she would be able to raise almost the entire kingdom against the Dauphin.

While the Dauphin was trying to gather all his supporters in Poitiers, Isabeau came to Paris in order to establish even closer relations with Philip of Burgundy, the son of her lover.

In another time, she would undoubtedly have become his mistress, which she always did in order to subjugate a man and gain an ally. But she knew perfectly well that she was no longer suitable for this. And then Isabeau gave Philippe her daughter Michelle, a charming blonde with blue eyes and a flexible figure.

The Duke of Burgundy immediately fell in love with this beautiful person and happily married her. He gave her a lot of attention. And Isabeau rejoiced in their marriage. But soon the old queen noticed that Michel, whose influence on Philip grew every day, had tender feelings for her brother, the Dauphin.

Isabeau was afraid that her daughter would try to reconcile the two men and thereby violate her plans. She gave the order, and three days later the lovely Duchess of Burgundy died of poisoning. Philip's grief was inconsolable. Did he suspect something? Unknown. But, in any case, his attitude towards the queen changed dramatically from that day on.

As soon as Michel was buried, the English king, on whose help Isabeau was counting, suddenly began to experience severe pain, from which he died. And two months later, on October 20, 1422, in the residence of Saint-Paul, Charles VI gave his sick soul to God.

At the same time, in Poitiers, her son, who, according to Isabeau, was finally removed from the throne, was crowned by his followers under the name of Charles VII.

The kingdom was officially divided into two parts. In one of them, the French king, rejected by his mother, ruled; in another, on behalf of a foreign baby, the regent ...

Death of Isabella

The civil war between the Armagnacs and the Bourguignons flared up with renewed vigor. It was Isabeau who gave the British the idea to burn Joan of Arc, whom she hated for helping her son Charles VII. After the death of the Maid of Orleans, the nine-year-old Henry VI, Isabeau's grandson, was crowned.

ISABELLA OF BAVARIAN

Alexandr Duma

Translation from French by B. Weissman and R. Rodina.

The novel by the French writer describes the dramatic episodes of the Hundred Years War and the bloody feuds of the highest French nobility at the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th century.

Foreword

One of the enviable advantages of the historian, this lord of bygone eras, is that, surveying his possessions, it is enough for him to touch the ancient ruins and decayed corpses with a pen, and palaces already appear before his eyes and the dead are resurrected: as if obeying the voice of God, according to his will naked skeletons are again covered with living flesh and dressed in elegant clothes; in the vast expanses of human history, numbering three millennia, it is enough for him, at his own whim, to outline his chosen ones, call them by name, and they immediately raise gravestones, throw off their shrouds, responding like Lazarus to the call of Christ: “I am here, Lord, what do you want from me?"

Of course, one must have a firm step in order to descend without fear into the depths of history; in a commanding voice to question the shadows of the past; confident hand to write down what they dictate. For the dead sometimes keep terrible secrets, which the gravedigger buried with them in the grave. Dante's hair turned gray while he listened to the story of Count Ugolino, and his eyes became so gloomy, his cheeks were covered with such a deathly pallor that, when Virgil again brought him out of hell to earth, the Florentine women, guessing where this strange traveler was returning from, told their children , pointing at him with his finger: "Look at this gloomy, mourning man - he descended into the underworld."

In this vast cemetery, in a niche on the left, there is a modest tomb, near which I always bow my head in thought. On its black marble, two statues are carved next to each other - a man and a woman. For four centuries now they have been resting here with their hands folded in prayer: a man asks the Almighty why he angered him, and a woman asks for forgiveness for her betrayal. These statues are statues of a madman and his unfaithful wife; for two whole decades, the insanity of one and the passions of love of the other served in France as the cause of bloody strife, and it is not by chance that on the deathbed that connected them, after the words: "Here lie King Charles VI, the Blessed One, and Queen Isabella of Bavaria, his wife" - the same hand inscribed : "Pray for them."

In this book, the reader will find a few bright, joyful pages, but too many will bear red traces of blood and black traces of death. For God was pleased that everything in the world should be painted in these colors, so that he even turned them into the very symbol of human life, making it the motto of the word: "Innocence, passions and death."

And now let's open our book, as God opens the book of life, on its bright pages: blood-red and black pages await us ahead.

Since the main characters of this historical chronicle - by birthright or by their position at court - were next to the queen or followed in her retinue, we, with the reader's permission, will now move along with the solemn procession, already ready to set off and waiting only for the duke. Louis of Touraine, the king's brother, whom some said about the care of his toilet, or the night of love, others claimed, had already been delayed for half an hour. This way of getting to know people and events, although not new, is very convenient; moreover, in the picture that we will try to sketch, relying on old chronicles,1 other strokes, perhaps, will not be devoid of interest and originality.

***

We have already said that this Sunday, on the road from Saint-Denis to Paris, so many people gathered here, as if people had come here by order. The road was literally littered with people, they stood closely pressed to each other, like ears of corn in a field, so that this mass of human bodies, so dense that the slightest shock experienced by any part of it was instantly transmitted to everyone else, began to sway, like that how a ripening field sways with a light breeze.

total:0
In contact with 0
Google Plus 0
OK 0
Facebook 0