Chapter 44 – Spain from 1518 to 1523
The year of 1518 saw a double wedding in Castile. One of the two grooms would be the eldest son of Infante Ferdinand the Elder, the Infante Santiago. The other would-be Gaston of Foix, Viscount of Narbonne, the two men being eighteen and twenty-nine respectively. The brides for Santiago and Gaston were of high prestige, both being great heiresses for Castile and Aragon. Santiago would marry Elvia Fernández de Córdoba, the only child of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, the late and great general of Castile. Gaston’s bride was Juana Folch de Cardona, the daughter and heiress of the Duke of Cardona. After Isabel’s death,
El Grand Capitan had served Juan as faithfully as he had done his mother and taken care to educate all the Infantes in warfare. He had been close friend to Ferdinand the Elder and Juan gave his blessing for the union between Santiago and Elvia after both fathers urged the match. Both matches came with substantial land and titles for the grooms, and it elevated them both into the peerage of Spain. Plus being married into the circle of the royal family gave the brides great standing and privileges.
Ferdinand the Elder beamed with pride as the couples exchanged wows to each other in the chapel and his plump and cheerful wife Carlota dotted her handkerchief at her eyes from time to time. Juan and Catherine attended the marriage, as a show of support for their nephew and dear friend. Their only daughter, thirteen-year-old Infanta Blanche and their second son, Infante Alano stood beside their parents. Unlike his delighted uncle, Ferdinand the Younger seethed while the ceremony proceeded. He had hoped for one of the brides for his eldest son, Infante Inigo, but given that the boy was seven years younger, King Juan had vetoed the idea as both matches had been arranged already. He assured his son that he would find his grandson a good match in due time, but with another bride.
In 1518 Ferdinand the Younger had three living children, Infante Inigo, Infanta Catalina and Infanta Maria by his Mendoza wife. His sister-in-law, Maria Pacheco was one of Princess Yolande’s chief ladies and her husband, Juan López de Padilla served in the prince’s household. His other siblings in law also reached high positions in Castile, leaving Ferdinand with good connections amongest the aristocrats. But his relationship with his brother had turned rather cold and Ferdinand the Younger came to loathe Ferdinand the Elder even more. Worse was to come a few years later.
Unlike his nephew, Ferdinand the Elder was more dependent on his brother the king for his maintenance. While the Dukedom of Cádiz was a prestigious title, it did not come with any lands or much income for the holder. Ferdinand II of Aragon had bestowed the Duchy of Villahermosa on his second son before his death, giving him a steadier income and lands, but that had not been until 1513. The marriage for Santiago provided him with land and titles, ensuring that the king’s nephew would not be impoverished and also rewarded the immense devotion Ferdinand the Elder had given the king for many years. Ferdinand the Younger on the other hands held several titles as both Duke of Granada and Duke of Arjona. He also had two titles granted by his mother, Duke of Penafiel and Count of Ribargoza, plus the title of Grand Master of the Order of Santiago, all that gave him increased income and prestige. By comparison, his uncle was far poorer and dependent on the king for income. Ferdinand the Elder had been unfortunate in being born twelve years after his brother, but four years before his eldest nephew arrived. While Ferdinand and Isabel would never neglect their second son, his value dropped sharply as Catherine had given birth to both an heir and a spare before he had reached the age of seven. And while Charlotte d’Albret had been a loving bride for him, she came with no lands or royal titles for her husband. Ferdinand’s marriage had been first and foremost arranged to protect and defend the Navarrese border and the Foix lands that Catherine of Navarre inherited in 1486, and the alliance with the Albret house had come to a crashing end in 1510, when Alain meet his end at the executioner’s sword in Blois that summer.
Hence the marriage for Ferdinand’s son, providing him with titles and estates for his upkeep.
Regarding the marriage of Juana to Gaston of Foix, that match had been arranged by the Prince of Asturias. Given that Juana would inherit the Catalan lands of her father, the Viscount of Narbonne was a most proper match, as it would give the future king of Navarre another ally in the region. Plus, as
The Thunderbolt of Spain, Gaston was the closest friend of the prince and a highly sought out bachelor, given his victories in against France in 1510. The Foix family also had a high standing in the court of Spain, as Catherine of Navarre had brought them in with her marriage. Gaston’s sister Germaine, was one of Princess Yolande’s chief ladies in waiting and had married Alfonso de Aragón y Portugal, the Duke of Segorbe, a relative of Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1508. Both Foix siblings had french blood, their uncle was the late Louis II, Duke of Orléans. Louis had died in 1515 in disgrace, due to his role in the chaos that enveloped France from 1507 to 1510 and since he was stuck with his sterile wife Joan of Valois, the Orléans lineage was extinguished in the male line, just as Louis XI had intended several decades earlier. As the only male descendant to Louis, Gaston could technically make a claim the Duchy of Orléans, but Charles IX declared the duchy forfeited to the Crown of France and Gaston did not contest it. Thus, his marriage to Juana was organised in order to bring him another title and lands for the Foix family. Gaston’s close relationship to the prince was another bone of contention for Ferdinand the Younger, as he felt himself be supplanted in his brother’s circle. According to court historians however, the two brothers had never been very close and Juan been raised with Gaston since 1490 when he was four and Gaston one. Ever since then they had been practically inseparable.
In the winter of 1519, the peripatetic court of Juan and Catherine arrived in Valencia to take up residence in Del Real Palace for the next five months. Juan’s main reason for the longer stay was to oversee the Catalan lands of Aragon and to inspect the naval ship yards in the kingdoms. The king had ordered several navy yards built in both Castile and Aragon, to combat the growing threat at sea from pirates and the ottomans. The cities of Valencia, Seville, Barcelona, Cartagena, Cádiz and Santander saw an increase in ship production, leading to them becoming more prosperous. Juan also ordered additional fortifications to strengthen the ports in case of attack. The Balearic Islands in Aragon had suffered several raids since 1512 and Juan was determined to one day chase the ottomans away from his realms. The ottoman naval commander Hayreddin Barbarossa was proving an especially challenging headache for the king, and all knew that it would eventually come to a clash between them.
Back in 1490, Juan had been instrumental in persuading his parents to set aside large tracks of lands where oak trees and other trees used for shipbuilding would be planted to become a reserve of lumber for the future. From 1515 the first mature trees had grown and resulted in several ships and more would come as more trees was planted to replace the cut down ones. He had also brought ships from Brabant, Portugal and the Italian realms over the years and had used the alliance with the Hapsburgs to import large amounts of lumber for very cheap prices. The result of these efforts had given Spain a rather robust and mixed navy to ward of enemies and explore the overseas lands in the new world. The income of silver and gold and other exotic commodities also added considerable amounts to the Spanish treasury and Juan spent considerable amounts to make his three kingdoms more efficient, amongst others to build practical roads winding between the big cities and ports, making it easier for the industries to flourish and for business to thrive.
From 1419 to 1521 the Spanish navy fought a series of campaigns against Barbarossa, with mixed results. Attacks on the Balearic Islands ended, but neither side managed to get the upper hand on each other. A more intense fight would come later, but at the end of 1521 Juan was distracted by another matter. The Princess of Asturias fell ill in the beginning of winter in Arevalo, where she died three weeks later, just before the Christmas celebrations. The whole court immediately plunged into mourning, replacing the wealth of colors in the royal wardrobe with black fabrics. A black paintbrush had been drawn over the greens, scarlet, purples and blues of gowns, skirts, tunics and jackets that had brightened the court.
The death of Yolande of Lorraine presented a problem for both king and prince, as her only son was the twelve-year-old Infante Juan. Despite Yolande being only thirty-six at her death, her last pregnancy had taken place in 1514, near her thirtieth year. Their eldest daughter was due to wed the dauphin in the next year and if something should happen to Juan, Spain risked being submerged into France. Prince Juan had another daughter, Infanta Ana, but she was only seven years old at her mother’s death and her claim to the throne would be weaker than her eldest sister. Prince Juan needed a new wife that could produce a spare to the throne, but it would take some effort to find one. Many royal daughters were already spoken for, and others had too low status for Juan. Given that their children would not likely inherit the throne, as Infante Juan was his father’s heir, that made several rulers reluctant to send their princesses to Spain. It would be Ferdinand the Elder who solved his brother’s dilemma in February. Rather than to spend months haggling with foreign diplomats over marriage negotiations, he proposed the marriage between Prince Juan and his daughter, Infanta Blanche of Cádiz. Blanche had now turned seventeen years old and Juan had intended for her to wed into Italy, but he had some difficulty in finding a proper groom. Blanche was indeed of royal and noble blood from both her father and mother and was accustomed to the comings and goings of court, and could take over Yolande’s role with ease. Plus, she was very loved by many in court and of perfect age to wed Prince Juan. She had been considered for Infante Juan at times, but the King had been firm on a foreign match for him. This arrangement saved the headache of negotiating with Italian rulers and spared the treasury the expenses of a dowry, plus there was no doubting the loyalty of Ferdinand the Elder. A marriage to Blanche suited the king fine and it was agreed upon in the beginning of summer. Out of respect for the late Yolande, the actual marriage took place in the late autumn of 1522.
One person who was not happy about the match was Ferdinand the Younger. According to the courtiers his intentions had been for his eldest daughter, Infanta Catalina to wed her uncle, but both Juans had rejected that idea as the girl was merely eleven years old while Blanche was seventeen. No doubt the relationship between the brothers played an important part, but all Ferdinand saw was himself being sidelined in his father’s affections in favour of his uncle and brother once more. The court historian Peter Martyr d’Anghiera noted in his writings that
“the prince had an immense row with his royal father after the marriage had been agreed upon” before Ferdinand withdrew to his estates, leaving the court for well over a year.
Princess Blanche of Cádiz, Queen of Navarre in 1533
The death of her daughter in law seemed to affect Catherine of Navarre, as she had relied upon the Princess to shoulder royal burdens and the queen seemed to fall into a gloom that lasted for over a year. In the summer of 1522, the royal court returned to Granada and Juan had planned a surprise to lighten his wife’s mood. Earlier in the year traders from Asia had arrived in the port city of Seville with wares from the orient, one of them being strange seeds from Persia. The flower that grew from the seeds was a lovely scarlet one, with a spicy sent of cloves and nutmegs. An enterprising merchant had managed to get an audience with the king in the spring and so Juan had ordered plenty of seeds planted in the gardens of the Alhambra palace complex and when he and Catherine arrived in Granada all flowers had just blossomed. Juan insisted that his wife accompany him to the gardens after their arrival, to show off the surprise he had planned for her. Catherine was awed of the sight in front of her: rows of strange scarlet flowers gleaming between the glistering pools of water and the shining white marble in the courtyards. The orchards hung heavy with lemons, pomegranates and oranges and the myrtles were all in bloom in that summer. To Catherine, this show of love for her would life her mood and her health began to improve. The queen would spend several moonlit nights in the Alhambra, enjoying the clean air, with the stunning backgrounds of the snow capped mountain peaks of Sierra Nevada illuminated by the milky moon ahead.
Most of Catherine’s sleepless nights was spent in reflections.
It has been forty-two years since she had arrived in Castile, as a fourteen-year-old bride from Navarre, to be educated as the future Queen. Juan had been only a blushing boy of ten at that time, more a playmate then a husband for the first years. Her grandmother had arranged the match over her mother’s intense objections. Her grandmother and mother were mostly faint memories at this time, as both had died several decades ago. Magdalena of Valois had wept bitter tears in the days leading up to her departure. Catherine remembers the feelings of confusion at that, why would she weep when she would become one of the grandest queens in Christendom? Looking back, her mother must have feared for Navarre’s independence and the life of her only son if her daughter married the son of Isabel and Ferdinand.
As for Francis Phoebus, Catherine could no longer remember her brother’s face. That was a great source of shame to her, as they had grown up close together. Sometimes she thought she could recall a happy boy with golden hair and bright eyes, but the face belonged to her own boy, Infante Alfonso, dead for seventeen years. Her brother’s death had come mere months after the birth of Prince Juan in 1486 and for a time Catherine had believed it had been an accident or illness that had claimed his life, but after a while the reality of the situation became clear. Her new kingdom had since long been caught in a tug of war between the Navarrese kings and the Crown of Aragon and the inevitable had finally happened. Perhaps it had been unavoidable since the moment Francis Phoebus had contemplated marrying Juana La Beltraneja, or perhaps it would have happened regardless as soon as she had given Juan a son. She had been unable to look at King Ferdinand for a long while after that and their stay in Olite after had given her time to clear her head. Taking up the reigns of Navarre had done her and Juan good, allowing them to step out of the shadow of Isabel and Ferdinand. She could let go some of the strict formality imposed by Isabel and breathe more freely. A bone of contention had been her refusal to establish the Inquisition in Navarre, but Juan taken her side against his parents and Navarre still remained free from their clutches.
The discord of her family troubled her more at the moment. Ferdinand’s quarrel with Juan, the inability of her two eldest sons to get along, the death of Yolande and the failing health of Maria de Mendoza, duchess of Granada. Her own daughter, Isabella had lost yet another child, leaving young Alfonso and little Maria as her only children alive. On top of all of this, her darling granddaughter Isabel would leave for France in mere weeks. The only good news was from Austria, where her daughter Leonor had given birth to her fifth child in the spring. Two babies had been lost in the cradle, but little Hedwig, Charles and Catherine remained alive and thrived in the imperial nursery. In Sicily the marriage of Gaston and Isabella of Taranto had resulted in two sons so far, Giuvanni and Federico, much to Catherine’s happiness. And in the next spring, Elizabeth of York would arrive to wed Infante Juan. Hopefully everything would heal by then.
“Give me strength to hold my family together. Give me strength to hold everything fast in these trying times. Juan will need me to hold the fort while the enemies gather outside of the borders.”
And with that prayer whispered out loud to the clear sky of Granada, Catherine went inside to find her husband. The page seated outside his chamber was dozing lightly in his chair, but upon her gentle clearing of her throat he jumped to his feet, apologies rushing out for being tardy on the job. The boy opened the door for her, announcing her to Juan and she entered the room. Like her, he was completely awake. His desk was littered in letters, royal orders and maps, and ink stained his fingertips.
“Can you not sleep either, my love?” Catherine asked, feeling a warm tenderness spreading inside her.
“These rapports comes from Malaga, evidently the barbarians have been harassing sailors outside the coast again. We must put the hammer down on these pirates, or else their destruction will continue to increase.”
The lines in his face were more prominent nowadays and the thick, gleaming brown hair had more grey strands than a few years ago, but otherwise he remained unchanged to her eyes. His posture as straight as ever and the broad lines of his shoulders remained as stable as ever, as Catherine ran her hands over them.
The Queen of Castile did not know what the future would hold, what the marriages of her grandchildren would result in or what her own legacy would be. But one thing she knew with absolute certainty. Tired or not, discord or not, she loved Juan with all her heart and she would not let him go until the Lord himself took her to his side.
The court left Granada in on the tenth of July to travel towards Navarre, a long journey that would take them straight across the heartland in Castile and Léon. Sending Isabella on a ship towards the port city of Séte or Maguelonne in France might have been taken less time, but Juan was not overly inclined to accommodate the Valois at the moment and a royal tour of the most important cities in Castile would be good for several reasons: both to reinforce royal authority and to ensure that the kingdom would be prepared to beat the drums of war against the Ottomans. Juan had grown to manhood during the
Reconquista of his parents against the last Emirate in Spain and now it was time for another one against the infidels plaguing the waters of the Mediterranean. The royal court progressed across Jaén, Toledo, Segovia, Valladolid, Palencia and finally to Léon. Along with Isabel they made a visit to Galicia and Santiago de Compostela, the famous pilgrimage in Spain. They stayed there for another week before departing for Oviedo, the last big city before they entered Navarre for a final stop in Pamplona. The court rested for three weeks before Isabel began her arduous journey across the Pyrenees with her large entourage.
Upon crossing the border, the welcoming committee from France consisted of the Duke of Bourbon and Jean of Montmorency, the heir to the Baron Montmorency. They meet Isabel in Bordeaux and escorted their new dauphine to the court in Blois, where the king and dauphin awaited her.
Juan and Catherine would both miss their darling Isabel, but they remained in Navarre until the end of autumn, moving towards Aragon for a progress that would take them to Sos, Zaragoza, Calatayud, Tarragona, Gerona, and Roussillon for the remainder of the year before they returned to Castile in February of 1523.
In May, two news delighted the court. Elizabeth of York departed England in the beginning of the month to sail to Asturias as soon as the winds of Biscay allowed her. And Blanche, Princess of Asturias announced her first pregnancy. Everything seemed to go smoothly for the Trastamara family so far, as all at this time knew, the Wheel of Fortune never stopped turning in its track and no one, high or low was spared its capriciousness.
Author's Note: So in Spain another few years passes. I always felt like Catherine of Navarre is one of those historical characters that gets criminally underutilized in this forum. It's always her daughters that gets discussed about, but few people make her the main character. I myself are guilty of this in my old burgundian tl, where I married her to the duke of Burgundy, gave her three children and then killed her off to that he could replace her a random infanta. So this is my way to make up for that treatment. I can't imagine that being the daughter in law of Ferdinand and Isabella can be easy, with all the prophetic intensity that was on Juan otl, he being born as their firstborn child can't be any easier. And now that Castile/Aragon is going on the warpath against the moors, I imagine that she will need all the strength she can muster as Juan will be busy as a war commander. And she has a new daughter in law. Poor Yolande. But soon little Juan will meet his english bride!
