The Good King Also by Margaret L. Kekewich

Editor; PRINCES AND THE PEOPLES: AND THE BRITISH ISLES, 1620–1714 (1994) Edited with Colin Richmond, Anne F. Sutton, Livia Visser-Fuchs and John L. Watts; THE POLITICS OF FIFTEENTH CENTURY : JOHN VALE’S BOOK (1995) Edited with Peter Elmer, Nick Webb, Anthony Lentin, Fiona Richards and Susan Khin Zaw; THE RENAISSANCE IN EUROPE: THE IMPACT OF HUMANISM (2000) With Susan Rose; BRITAIN, FRANCE AND THE EMPIRE, 1350–1500 (2005) The Good King René of and Fifteenth Century Europe

Margaret L. Kekewich © Margaret L. Kekewich 2008 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2008 978-1-4039-8820-1 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2008 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-54201-7 ISBN 978-0-230-58221-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230582217 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kekewich, Margaret Lucille, 1939– The good king : René of Anjou and fifteenth century Europe Margaret L. Kekewich. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. René I, King of Naples and Jerusalem, 1409–1480. 2. France–Kings and rulers–Biography. 3. Europe–History–15th century. 4. Anjou, House of. 5. Angers (France)–History. I. Title. DC102.8.R4K45 2008 945′.705092–dc22 2008016314 10987654321 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 To the memory of my parents Arthur and Winifred Kekewich Contents

Acknowledgements ix List of Illustrations x Maps xii Genealogical table xiv List of Abbreviations xv Introduction: ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ Kings 1 1 Anjou, Bar, Lorraine and Provence 11 Introduction 11 Young René 15 Disaster 27 The administration of the apanage 32 Conclusion 42 2 Naples: the ‘Italian Wasp-Nest’ 45 Introduction: the Angevin Empire 45 The other Hundred Years War 48 1380–1434: a graveyard for the Angevins 48 King René: 1435–1442 54 John of Calabria and the end of the Angevin enterprise 68 Conclusion: two Renaissance princes 76 3 The End of the Hundred Years War 80 Introduction 80 René redux 83 Two weddings and a truce 91 The question of Maine 105 The reconquest of Normandy and Guyenne 116 Crisis in England 122 Conclusion 131 4 René’s Court 134 Introduction 134 Court locations 138

vii viii Contents

Family, courtiers and servants 147 The arts: making and patronage 155 Literature 155 Painting and sculpture 169 Devotion and chivalry 183 Conclusion 191 5 The Dissolution of René’s apanage 198 Introduction 198 The first demise of Lancaster 201 The League of the Public Good 209 ‘King of Aragon’, 215 1470/71: the ‘Annus Horribilis’ 223 The dissolution of the apanage 229 Conclusion 244 Conclusion: the Paradox of the Good King 247 Bibliography 255 Index 267 Acknowledgements

The staff of the National Archives, Kew, of Rare Books and Manuscripts in the British Library and the Warburg Institute, University of London, have been of great assistance in the preparation of this book and I am most grateful to them. I would also like to express my thanks to the late Janet Backhouse, Jim Bolton, Ralph Griffiths, Maureen Jurkowski, Nigel Ramsay, John Reid, Colin Richmond, Susan Rose and the members of the Late Medieval Seminar at the Institute of Historical Research for their advice. A number of friends in England and France have been most supportive, especially Anne Alexander, Gladys Bland, Lesley Daimond, Kenneth and Jean Lewis. The staff at Palgrave/Macmillan, particularly Michael Strang, Ruth Ireland and the consultant Barbara Slater, have been very pleasant and constructive to work with. My husband, Peter Fawcett, has helped me in so many ways that rather than enumerate them I can only offer him my profound thanks.

Margaret Lucille Kekewich, London, 2008

ix List of Illustrations

Cover: Tomb of king René of Anjou and his first wife, queen Isabelle of Lorraine formerly in the choir of Saint Maurice cathedral, Angers. Damaged by fire in 1533 and destroyed in 1793, only a few fragments now remain. Drawing by Gaignières, c. 1699.

1. The window from the north transept of the cathedral of 2 St Julian, Le Mans (detail). Photo, Peter Fawcett. 2. Yolande of Aragon, detail from the window in Le Mans 3 cathedral. 3. Statue of king René in the Cours Mirabeau, Aix by David 43 d’Angers, 1819 (detail). Photo Peter Fawcett. 4. Courtyard of the Castelnuovo, Naples. Photo Peter Fawcett. 46 5 a–d. Miniatures of king René, queen Isabelle, their son John 60 of Calabria and his wife Marie of Bourbon. Register of the Confraternity of St Martha, Naples, Archivio di Stato, Ms 58. 6. Arms of king René by Luca della Robbia, formerly displayed 67 on the Villa Pazzi near Fiesole. The Victoria and Albert Museum. Photo, Peter Fawcett. 7 a–c. The castle at Angers: curtain walls, built in the thirteenth 106 century and moat, the lodge built by René c. 1450 and plan. Photos Peter Fawcett. Plan property of Palgrave: see Kekewich and Rose, Britain, France and the Empire, pp. 232–4. 8. The views the arms of participating 161 knights held up by a herald. The Book of Tournaments, Paris, BnF Ms fr.2695, f.11. 9. Heart and Ardent Desire arrive at the Hospital of Love. 165 The Book of the Love-Smitten Heart, Paris BnF Ms fr. 24399 f. 58. 10. René in his study. The Mortification of Empty Pleasure, 168 , Bib.Roy. Ms 10308, f.1. The Warburg Institute. 11. ‘The Virgin Mary in the Burning Bush’ by Nicolas Froment, 175 1476, Saint Saveur cathedral, Aix. The Warburg Institute. 12. Probably , a medal by Pietro da Milano 180 (1463–64). Private Collection. The Warburg Institute.

x List of Illustrations xi

13. John Cossa, a medal by Francesco Laurana, 1466. Paris BnF 181 Cabinet des médailles. The Warburg Institute. 14. Tarascon Castle, effigies of king René and queen Jeanne 182 de Laval and inscription, probably by Francesco Laurana. Photo Peter Fawcett. 15. The tomb of Charles I, count of Maine, d.1472, in Le Mans 216 cathedral, probably by Francesco Laurana. Photo Peter Fawcett. 16. Tomb of Ferry of Vaudemont (d.1470) and Yolande of 238 Anjou (d.1483) in church of Saint-Laurent, Joinville, Haute Marne. Made in 1495 by Ferry’s brother Henry of Lorraine, bishop of , and destroyed during the . Classical features led L. Maxe-Werly to attribute the tomb to Francesco Laurana, Comptes rendus de l’Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres (1899) facing p. 263. Warburg Institute. 17. King René in old age, a modern picture copied from the 243 Mathurin portrait. Hotel d’Arlatan, Arles. Photo Kenneth Lewis. 18. Statue of the young René by David d’Angers near Angers 250 castle, 1853. Photo Peter Fawcett. Maps

GUISE

Bar LORRAINE BARROIS Nancy MAINE Paris Le Mans Seine Angers e L oir ANJOU xii

Garonne Rhone PROVENCE Aix

Marseille CATALONIA Gerona

Barcelona Naples

Angevin lands in the fifteenth century xiii

N

Monferrato Asti Milan Brescia Nice Savona Cremona Genoa Piacenza Rapallo Parma Mantua

Venice La Spezia Portovenere Pisa Ferrara Chioggia Leghorn Florence Faenza Forli Ajaccio Siena Arezzo Rimini Piombino

Bonifacio

Urbino

Civitavecchia

Tivoli Ostia Rome Aquila Celano Chieti ABRUZZO Cassino Gaeta

Caserta Lucera Maddaloni Benevento Foggia Naples Castellamare Troja PUGLIA Salerno Trani

BASILICATA Bari Conversano

Palermo Taranto

Cosenza Tropea

Messina CALABRIA Reggio

The Angevins in Italy Genealogical Table

The Peter III count/king of Barcelona, Aragon and Sicily d. 1285 = Constance of d.1302 Louis VIII king of France d.1226 The First House of Anjou James II king of Sicily and Aragon d.1327

Alfonso IV king of Aragon d.1336 Frederick II king of Sicily d.1337 Louis IX king of France (saint) d.1270 Charles I of Anjou king of Sicily and Jerusalem d.1285 = Peter II king of Sicily d.1342 Beatrice countess of Provence

Peter IV ‘ the Ceremonious’ king of Aragon and Majorca d.1387 Philip III king of France d.1285 Charles II ‘the Lame ’ king of Naples d.1309 Frederick III king of Sicily d.1377 Louis king of Sicily d.1355 Robert ‘the Wise’ king of Naples d.1343 = Louis of Toulouse (saint) d.1299 Sancia queen of Majorca Charles Martel king of Hungary d.1295

Charles d.1328 Philip IV ‘the Fair’ king of France d.1314 Charles count of Valois d.1325 = Martin ‘the Old’ king of Aragon d.1410 Margaret of Anjou John I king of Aragon d.1396 = Yolande of Bar The Joanna I d.1382 sp

Philip V king of France d.1322 sp John price of Durazzo d.1335 Louis X king of France d. 1316 Charles IV king of France d.1328 sp Charles prince of Durazzo d.1348 Louis prince of Durazzo d.1362 John I king of France d.1316 sp Philip VI king of France d.1350 Martin ‘the Young’ king of Sicily d. 1409 = Maria queen of Sicily d.1402 sp John II king of France d.1364 The Second House of Anjou Margaret d.1412 = Charles III king of Naples and Hungary d.1386 John duke of Berri d.1416 Philip ‘the Bold’ Charles V ‘the Wise’ king of France d.1380 Louis I duke of Anjou, king of Sicily d.1384 d.1404 xiv Marie sp Ladislas king of Naples and Hungary d.1414 sp Joanna II queen of Naples d.1435 sp Violante/Yolande d.1442 = Louis II duke of Anjou, king of Sicily d.1417 John ‘the Fearless’ duke of Burgundy d.1419 Charles VI king of France d.1422 Louis duke of Orleans d.1407 = Valentina Visconti Yolande d.1440 Philip ‘the Good’ duke of Burgundy d.1467 Charles VII ‘the Victorious’ king of France d.1461 = Charles count of Maine d.1472 Charles ‘the Bold’ duke of Burgundy d.1477 Marie of Anjou The House of Trastàmara of Castile/Aragon Louis III duke of Anjou, king of Sicily Marie queen of France d.1463 d.1434 sp Louis XI king of France d.1483 Charles duke of Orleans d.1467 Mary duchess of Burgundy d.1482 = John I of Trastàmara king of Castile d.1390 = Eleanor of Aragon René I duke of Anjou, king of Sicily d.1480 = Maximilian of Habsburg, Emperor 1493, d.1519 Isabelle of Lorraine d.1453 Charles VIII king of France d.1498 sp Louis XII king of France d.1515 Philip ‘the Fair’ duke of Burgundy d.1506 Charles count of Maine and Provence d.1481 sp

Ferdinand ‘of Antequera’ king of Aragon d.1416 Henry III king of Castile d.1406

John II king of Castile d.1454 Louis marquis of Pont d.1443 sp Yolande d.1483 = Ferry of Vaudemont d.1470 Henry Peter Margaret queen of England d.1482 = John duke of Calabria and Lorraine d.1470 = John II king of Aragon and Sicily d.1479 Alfonso ‘the Magnanimous’ king of Aragon, Sicily and Naples d.1458 Marie of Bourbon d.1448 Henry VI king of England d.1471 Henry IV ‘the Impotent’ king of Castile d.1474 Ferdinand I (Ferrante) king of Naples d.1494 Nicolas duke of Calabria and Lorraine d.1473 sp John d.1471 sp Edward of Lancaster d 1471 sp René II duke of Lorraine d.1508 Joanna ‘la Beltraneja’ d.1530 sp

Isabella ‘the Catholic’ queen of Castile d.1504 = Ferdinand ‘the Catholic’ king of Aragon, Sicily and Naples d.1516 Alfonso II king of Naples d.1495 Frederick IV king of Naples d.1501

Joanna ‘the Mad’ d.1555 = Philip ‘the Fair’ d.1506 Ferdinand II king of Naples d.1496 Emperor Charles V king of Spain, Sicily and Naples d.1558

The Houses of Valois/Anjou and their claim to Naples, c.1223–1515 List of Abbreviations

Basin, Charles VII Histoire de Charles VII, ed. and trans. C. Samaran, 2 vols (Paris: 1964) Basin, Louis XI Histoire de Louis XI, ed. and trans. C. Samaran and M. C. Garand, 3 vols (Paris: 1963–72) Beaucourt G. du Fresne de Beaucourt, Histoire de Charles VII, 6 vols (Paris: 1881–91) BN Bibliothèque Nationale Bodl. Bodleian Library Bouvier Gilles le Bouvier, dit le Hérault Berry, Les Chroniques du Roi Charles VII, ed. H. Courteault and L. Celier (Paris: 1979) BL British Library CCR Calendar of Close Rolls CFR Calendar of Fine Rolls CPR Calendar of Patent Rolls CSPM Calendar of State Papers Milan Chartier Jean Chartier, Chronique de Charles VII, ed. Vallet de Viriville, 3 vols (Paris: 1858) Chastellain Georges Chastellain, Oeuvres, ed. K. de Lettenhove, 8 vols (Brussels: 1863–66) Commynes Philippe de Commynes, Mémoires, ed. J. Calmette and G. Durville, 2 vols (Paris: 1924) Dépêches (Mandrot) Dépêches des Ambassadeurs Milanais en France sous Louis XI et François Sforza, ed. B. de Mandrot, 4 vols (Paris: 1916– 23) Dépêches (la Sarra) Dépêches des Ambassadeurs Milanais sur les campagnes de Charles-le-Hardi duc de Bourgogne de 1474 à 1477, ed. F. de Gingins la Sarra, 2 vols (Paris, Geneva: 1858) Dietari Dietari del Antichi Consell Barceloni, ed. D.F. Schwarz, D. Franchesch and Carreras y Caudi, 17 vols (Barcelona: 1892–1922) 2 Dispatches Dispatches with Related Documents of Milanese Ambassadors in France and Burgundy, 1450–1483, ed. P.M. Kendall and V.I. Ilardi, 3 vols (Athens, Ohio: 1970–81)

xv xvi List of Abbreviations

Diurnali Diurnali detti del Duca di Monteleone, ed. N. Faraglia (Naples: 1895) EHR English Historical Review Escouchy Mathieu d’Escouchy, Chronique, ed. G. du Fresne de Beaucourt, 3 vols (Paris: 1863–64) Foedera Foedera, Conventiones et cujuscunque Acta Publica, ed. T. Rymer, 10 vols (The Hague: 1745) JMH Journal of Medieval History Lecoy de la Marche A. Lecoy de la Marche, Le Roi René: sa vie, son administration, ses travaux artistiques et littéraires, 2 vols (Paris: 1875) Molinet Jean Molinet, Chroniques, 1474–1506, ed. G. Doutrepont and O. Jodogne, 2 vols (Brussels: 1935). Monstrelet Enguerran de Monstrelet, La Chronique, 1400–1444, ed. L. Doüet-d’Arcq, 6 vols (Paris: 1857–62) RP Rotuli Parliamentorum, Record Commission, 6 vols (London: 1767–83) Stevenson Letters and Papers illustrative of the Wars of the English in France during the reign of Henry VI, ed. J. Stevenson, 2 vols (London: 1861–64) Vale’s Book Politics of Fifteenth Century England: John Vale’s Book, ed. M.L. Kekewich, C.F. Richmond, A.F. Sutton, L. Visser-Fuchs and J.L. Watts (Stroud: 1995) Warkworth John Warkworth, Chronicle of the first thirteen years of the reign of Edward IV, ed. O. Halliwell (London: 1839) Waurin Jean de Waurin, Recueil des croniques et anchiennes istoires de la Grant Bretaigne, ed. W. and E.L.C.P. Hardy, 5 vols (London: 1864–91)

Note: All translations are by the author unless otherwise stated.