Louis' Second Marriage

Poor Louis X of France! He became king after his father's death, but he did not have an heir. (Well, he did, but she was a daughter, so...) He was married, but his wife had been imprisoned for life due to infidelity. To put away his wife and re-marry required an annulment from the pope, but the college of cardinals was still fighting over an election because of politics. What to do?

As it happens, his wife, Queen Consort Margaret of Burgundy, died in prison on 30 April 1315 after "catching a cold." Some say she was strangled. Of course there is no way to know if the story of the cold was made-up and someone had her eliminated to resolve the crisis.

Whatever the case, Louis was free to marry again, and he did. Louis married Clementia of Hungary (pictured here) on 19 August. Less than a year later, on 5 June 1316, Louis died after playing tennis. Clementia was pregnant at the time, and this created a question: if she gave birth to a son, he would have precedence over Louis' daughter by Margaret. If she gave birth to a daughter, then the elder daughter, Joan, would have precedence; on the other hand, Margaret's affair raised questions as to the true parentage of Joan.

Louis' brother Philip was appointed regent for the five months until Clementia gave birth. On 15 November 1316, King John I was born and reigned under his uncle Philip's regency for five days until his death on the 20th. He is the youngest person to be King of France, and the only King of France to hold the title for his entire life. Of course there were rumors that Philip had him killed, especially since Philip succeeded him as Philip V. The child mortality rate was very high, however: estimates for the medieval era worldwide are that one in four children died in the first year of life.

But let us not just ignore that Louis died after playing tennis. Was his death connected to the tennis game? And tennis? In 1316? Of course you are curious about tennis in the Middle Ages, and I will attempt to satisfy that curiosity next time.

The Tour de Nesle Affair

In the early 13th century, Philip II of France fortified Paris with four large guard towers. The Tour de Nesle (the "s" is silent) on the south bank of the Seine was 10 meters in diameter and 25 meters tall. The illustration shows it in 1608, a few decades before it was taken down. In 1314, it became the site of a huge royal scandal.

King at the time was Philip IV, who in 1307 had managed to get the pope to condemn the Templars, allowing him to seize all their assets for himself. He had three sons and one daughter, Isabella of France. The sons (each of whom had a turn as king) were Louis, who was married to Margaret, daughter of Robert II, Duke of Burgundy; Philip, who married Joan the daughter of Otto IV, Count of Burgundy; and Charles, who married Blanche, another of Otto's daughters.

In 1313, Isabella and Edward II of England visited her parents in France, during which Isabella presented her sisters-in-law with embroidered purses. (Note that these would not have been a modern "lady's purse" but a pouch for carrying coins.) Upon the couple's return to England, a feast was held in their honor. During the gathering, Isabella saw two of the embroidered purses in the possession of two visiting Norman knights, the brothers Walter and Philip Aunay.

Walter was an equerry to Prince Philip, and Philip was an equerry to Prince Charles. An equerry was a "personal assistant" responsible for the horses of a royal personage. Isabella concluded that her sisters-in-law had given the purses to the men for "special favors" and, when she re-visited France in 1314, informed her father of her suspicions. Philip placed the men and his daughters-in-law under surveillance, eventually deterring that Blanche and Margaret had been meeting the two men for drinking and debauchery in the Tour de Nesle, while the third daughter-in-law, Joan, had been aware of the carousing (though not a participant).

Philip gathered enough evidence to accuse those involved publicly. The two sisters were found guilty of adultery, had their heads shaved, and were sentenced to life imprisonment. Joan was found innocent, especially with her husband speaking up for her. (Joan and Philip had a notably romantic marriage: several children in a short space of time, and numerous love letters written by Philip.)

The brothers (under torture) confessed their adultery, were found guilty of lèse-majesté, "crime against the dignity of the crown," and were beaten, skinned alive, covered in boiling lead sulfite, and hanged. Other reports say they were castrated and beheaded. Whatever their fate, it was brutal and terminal.

Some think the stress of the Tour de Nesle affair contributed to Philip IV's death later that year. He was succeeded by Louis in 1315. Margaret, held underground at Château Gaillard, became Queen of France automatically. Louis would have liked to avoid this, but he could not get his marriage annulled because to do so required the pope. Why could he not procure an annulment from the pope? Simple: there wasn't one.

I'll explain next time.

The Flemish Revolt, Part 1

About 60 years before the Peasants' Revolt in England over a poll tax, the lower classes of the Low Countries revolted against taxes.

Robert III, aka The Lion of Flanders, was the Count of Flanders. When he died sin 1322, he left behind a muddle: his son and heir, Louis I the Count of Nevers, had died two months previous, and the next in line was Robert's grandson, Louis. Louis at the age of about 18 became the Count of Nevers and Flanders. A couple years earlier, in 1320, Louis had married Margaret, the daughter of King Philip V of France.

This marriage made him a Francophile, while Robert III and his father had been anti-French. There was another big issue connected with Louis' reign, and that was taxation. Not that there wasn't a reason:

Louis' grandfather, Robert III, had signed a treaty with King Philip IV of France to conclude the Franco-Flemish War (1297-1305). The war started because, although Flanders had acted independently, it was technically a part of France since the Treaty of Verdun in 843. Philip IV decided to bring Flanders and its wealthy cities under stricter French control. We may discuss the war some other time; for now, suffice it to say that the Flemish forces were defeated.

The terms of the Treaty of Athis-sur-Orge were onerous, to say the least. Certain cities (Lille, Douai, Orchies) would fall under French rule, and fortresses protecting large cities in Flanders needed to be torn down. Expensive monetary re[arations were to be paid to France, and an annual sum. The Count of Flanders would hold Flanders as a fiefdom of France. Flanders was required to send 600 knights for there French army

...and this is where we get back to Louis, raising taxes to pay back his father-in-law and fulfill the terms of the treaty; but I feel I've already taken enough of your time for one day, so I'll finish this tomorrow.