Anno Obumbratio: A 16th Century Alternate History
- Thread starter DrakeRlugia
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Awesome chapter! When you get a chance can you make family trees for the main families? Thanks!Wowza, I am sorry guys! This chapter is huge: almost a whopping 6k words, but I really couldn't find a good cut off point until the very end. I tried editing what I could, but in some cases it just got longer. We're going to take a break from our scheduled show, Francis vs. Charles, and take a look at what is going on in Hungary instead....
Chapter XVII. The Hungarian Conflagration
1525-1528; Germany & Hungary
“I came indeed in arms against him; but it was not my wish that he should be thus cut off before he scarcely tasted the sweets of life and royalty.”
— Suleiman the Magnificent
Music Accompaniment: Branle de la Siutte du Constraint Leiger
Battle of Nicopolis, unknown artist.
While the King of France and the Holy Roman Emperor continued their struggles over Italy, Hungary was dealing with an enemy that they had now been dealing with for nearly two centuries—the Ottoman Turks. Having spread forth out of Anatolia, the Ottoman Empire was now one of the largest in Europe—comprising of not only its holdings in the Balkans but also its newest conquests in the Middle East: the Levant and Egypt, picked from the moldering corpse of the Mameluk Sultunate. The Ottoman Sultans—Padishah and Kayser-i Rum—were able to add yet another title to their growing list: that of Caliph, with the Ottoman Sultans being named defenders of the holiest cities in Islam—Mecca and Medina. Sultan Selim, the conqueror of Egypt, died in 1520 and was soon succeeded by his ambitious son, named Suleiman. Suleiman soon turned his focus towards Europe—the citadel of Belgrade fell into his hands after a token siege, while he used an army of 70,000 men to evict the Knights Hospitaller from Rhodes in 1522 at great loss. Now, three years later, his sights began to look further into Hungary—the road that would lead him into Europe.
Hungary, meanwhile, suffered from its own set of problems. Though Louis II had attained his majority, Hungary remained in a perilous position as the great magnates dominated the political life of the kingdom. The crown’s authority remained weakened, and royal finances were in a terrible state—the king was kept in poverty and was forced to borrow to pay for his household expenses, while his queen, Mary of Austria, despite being given a generous endowment of 40,000 ducats per annum, was forced to use her annual allowance to repay loans that had been taken out by Vladislaus II, with the queen only having access to her income onward from 1525. The state of the kingdom’s finances also extended beyond the royal household—fortresses were allowed to fall into disarray while the salaries of border troops went into arrears. All attempts to increase taxation to pay for the defense of the country were frustrated by the jealous magnates, eager to keep their hands on the wealth that had been readily poured into their hands by Vladislaus II. Politically, the kingdom remained divided between the lower gentry, who wished to see a national regeneration, and many of the great magnates, who were more favorable to a pro-Imperial foreign policy. The queen herself was the head of the pro-Imperial faction, and she had attained a great position of influence and authority for herself. She also had a base of power outside the kingdom, with the emperor having named Mary as Governor of Austria in 1523 to manage the Habsburg territories of Austria. Mary did not reside within Austria and governed these territories for her brother, largely from Hungary—Wilhelm, the Freiherr von Roggendorf, and Christoph Frankopan were appointed by the queen as her representatives in Austria.
Another fixture of the Hungarian court was Louis II’s sister—Anne. Anne had been raised alongside Mary and had been betrothed to Ferdinand of Austria at a young age. When Ferdinand was kept behind in Spain, their engagement entered a nebulous phase—when Mary was finally wed to Louis II, Anne accompanied her now sister-in-law to Hungary; the diet bestowed upon Anne a small annuity of 3000 ducats—with hope that her marriage to Ferdinand might come to fruition. When Ferdinand was named Prince of Asturias in 1526—and beseeched to seek out a marriage more amiable to Spanish interests, Ferdinand finally took the step of terminating his engagement. Louis II was incensed at what he viewed as a betrayal by his Habsburg relatives, writing to the Empress Mary: “This is an affront to the dignity of the Holy Crown of Hungary—as well as the honor of my sister. The betrothal was signed nearly a decade ago, and she has languished—waiting to be summoned by her husband. It is only now that we discover that Ferdinand is not prepared to follow through with the promises made by his grandfather. It is a great disappointment, and I do hope that the emperor is prepared to rectify the situation…” Despite additional pleas from Queen Mary of Hungary, the king’s plea fell on death ears—though the Empress Mary did deign to discharge a small sum of ƒ10,000 from her privy purse to assuage the King of Hungary’s hurt feelings. The broken betrothal left Princess Anne free to marry, though her brother’s concerns lay in other areas.
Louis II, King of Bohemia and Hungary, c. 1526.
The King and Queen of Hungary had a tender relationship—it was a relationship built on mutual affection and love. Though the king had a mistress prior to his marriage named Angelitha Wass, he was faithful to the queen following their marriage. They spent a great deal of time together, with a Hungarian courtier of the period writing in his journal that, “The king has eyes only for the queen, and the queen only has eyes for the king. They are a pretty pair, like two little dolls—they go about each day, spending nearly every waking moment together. Even when the king meets with the council, she is often present—sitting to the side and sewing or reading. Once business is finished, they spend their days hunting, feasting, and riding. She is the king’s heart and dearest advisor—if only she were a man, the things she might accomplish!” Despite their mutual attraction, the early years of the marriage were plagued by childlessness—with the queen even visiting local shrines in hopes that she might conceive a son. The king and queen’s prayers were answered when the queen discovered she was pregnant; in November of 1525, the queen gave birth—not to a son, but to a daughter. Born on the feast day of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, the little princess was named Elizabeth. Mary doted upon her daughter and soon spent vast amounts of time in the royal nursery with one of her favored Dutch servants, Jutte Cosijins, named as the princesses’ nursemaid.
Despite this, the shadow of the Turkish scourge hung over Hungary. The conquest of Belgrade nearly four years earlier had exposed the disarray of the Hungarian troops and opened the kingdom for further invasions by the Ottomans. Though Mary was resolute in her campaign for Hungary, she was unable to find much assistance abroad: Charles V in early 1526 remained imprisoned, and the Empress Mary’s concern remained primarily focused on the threat of France—support from the empire remained limited, primarily from Bohemia (which shared a monarch with Hungary) and Bavaria—though the Queen of Hungary was given permission by the empress to recruit from within the Austrian dominions, and it was agreed that the queen should have access to some of the artillery kept stored at Vienna. Aid also came from Poland, with Louis’ uncle, Sigismund the Old, pledging military support. Though the Pope was unable to offer any military resources, he did pledge ƒ50,000 to the Hungarian treasury to assist in paying defense costs. Though Queen Mary was resolute in her attempt to defend Hungary, her reliance on her non-Hungarian advisors meant that few within the ranks of the nobility trusted her. Louis II’s attempts to rally support were positively anemic compared to the queen’s—a fact that was readily apparent to the nobility. “The king is a weak man—he has none of the determination that the queen possesses. If he had only a drop of her blood—then he might prove stronger than he presently is.”
View attachment 862334View attachment 862335
Queen Mary of Hungary & Princess Anne of Hungary.
With the king's weakness, they became the heads
of the pro-Habsburg and pro-National factions, respectively.
The kingdom was divided more than ever—and these divisions also spread into the royal household, with the king torn between his sister and his wife. Relations between the queen and Princess Anne had suffered ups and downs—the pair had ceased speaking for a time in 1519, when there were rumors that the regents of Louis II would repudiate his engagement to Mary and have the young king stand for election as Holy Roman Emperor himself. Though the pair eventually made up, the breaking of Anne’s engagement in 1526 added further tension to their relationship, to the point that Anne’s began to host a court separate from her brother and sister-in-law. Anne’s court began to be frequented by those opposed to the pro-Habsburg policy of the king. One of the prime attendees at Anne’s court was John Zápolya—a magnate and head of the national party. Though his influence had been weakened by his defeat outside Belgrade in 1515, he was still beloved by many of the gentry and lower nobility, and he had connections abroad through his sister, Barbara Zápolya, wife of Sigismund the Old and thus Queen of Poland. Rumors swirled of Zápolya’s interest in Princess Anne—his mother had sought a marriage between the two when Anne was only a child, and Zápolya had also expressed his interest to the late king, Vladislaus II, in 1510 as well. Balázs Szécsi, Princess Anne’s chamberlain, wrote in his diaries that: “The king was all fury when he discovered that Zápolya—a man he had never quite trusted and whose intentions he was never sure of—had paid visits to his sister. The princess was questioned before the whole of the court, with the king demanding to know what had transpired between the pair—and if they had ever met alone. The princess defended herself adroitly: ‘I have done no wrong, both before God and before you as my brother and my sovereign. You have your friends—I am fit to have my own.’ This was not an answer that soothed the king—declaring that as she was fit to have her own friends, she should be fit to have her own establishment away from him—in Olmütz, in Bohemia. The princess departed from her brother on terrible terms—the last time that she saw him. Though the order for her banishment was rescinded when her retinue reached Pozsony, she chose to remain there rather than return to the royal capital.”
The Ottomans began to muster their troops in the spring of 1526, setting out from Constantinople in April. Their army was composed of some 50,000 men, though some claimed upwards of 100,000. The Ottomans' advantage lay mainly in their artillery: they possessed some 300 guns, more than the Hungarians could ever hope to muster. The Ottoman troops also had plenty of arquebuses—made not just by Venetian gunsmiths but by Hungarian gunsmiths as well—an issue that had prompted the Hungarian diet to pass a law banning the export of further guns to the Ottomans in 1525. Given their trajectory north, all knew that their path would take them through Hungary—and that they would likely use the Danube River as their most important transportation source. The main issue lay in Hungary’s lack of fortifications some 250 miles alongside the banks of the river: aside from Pétervárad and Buda, Hungary had no fortifications, towns, or even villages that might serve to slow the Turkish advance—made easier by the Ottoman Grand Vizier, Ibrahim Pasha, constructing a bridge to allow the Turkish troops to cross into Hungarian territory even easier. The Ottoman army marched for nearly eighty days from Constantinople and took five days to cross the Danube into Hungarian lands—encountering no resistance as they did so.
The Turkish incursion into Hungary caused a great tumult and occurred mainly because of the jealousies of the magnates. When news of the Ottoman troops marching forward spread, Louis II was keen to deploy a vanguard of troops to defend the southern border. This plan was frustrated by the great nobility who refused to serve under the king’s chosen deputy, making it clear that they would serve only under the king. The nobility, more concerned with their petty feuds and jealousies, seriously underestimated the situation that they were in and were slow to react to the king’s call for troops. By the time the Ottoman troops were already crossing into Hungarian territory, the Hungarian army was composed of three distinct units: in Transylvania, John Zápolya commanded a force of some 10,000 men, mainly charged with guarding the Transylvanian Mountain passes. The main army, led by the king himself, was composed of 22,000 men—this included some 4,000 armored knights from the noble banderiums and the king’s bodyguard; 4,500 light cavalry, mainly Hussars of Serbian origin; 6,700 Hungarian troops; and 5,300 mercenary troops—composing mainly of German Landsknechte, as well as Italian and Spanish condottiero, financed by the Papal States; and 1,500 infantrymen from Poland—with a small number of artillerymen recruited mainly from the Habsburg domains in Austria. The royal army had perhaps ninety artillery pieces all together—a small amount compared to the Turks. The troops were also well equipped compared to armies in western Europe, and many of the troops were furnished with arquebuses, but they were still outmanned and outgunned by the Turkish forces.
When the Ottomans pressed into Hungary, this left the royal forces separated—Zápolya’s forces were along the Transylvanian border, while Christoph Frankopan had some 5000 troops in Croatia, both of which were too far away to offer any tangible assistance to the king. This meant that the bulk of Louis II’s forces, centered in Buda, were the only means of offering any resistance to the Ottoman invasion—badly outnumbered and outgunned as well. Though the king favored a defensive policy—in effect, ceding ground to the Ottomans rather than fighting them in open battle—the king found himself overruled and swayed by his war council, which desired a quick, immediate strike against the Turkish marauders without waiting for reinforcements from either Zápolya or Croatia. “We are planning for our last stand against this scourge,” Louis II wrote dimly to Charles V—in hopes of convincing the newly freed emperor into sending more aid. “Your help is desired—and needed—more than ever. Stand with us and let us make a grand strike against the Turk.” The emperor never responded to the letter—his focus was on France; he did not understand the urgency of the situation in Hungary and preferred to deal with what he thought were more emergent situations. Hungary could expect no further aid from the Habsburgs—their help remained limited to what Empress Mary had sent earlier in the year. With the royal army still situated around Buda, the Ottoman forces were able to press forward unopposed, moving into the village of Mohács and besieging Pétervárad, Újlak, and Eszék. Louis, along with his council, decided that they would make their defiant stand at the village of Bár—the plains would give plenty of room for the cavalry to maneuver, and the Hungarians hoped to deal with the Turks piece by piece. The Hungarian army was also in better shape—they were well-rested, while the Ottoman troops had just endured a hellish march in the heat of the summer.
Sultan Suleiman following the Victory at Bár.
The Battle of Bar unfolded on September 1st, 1526, and played out over a matter of two hours. While Archbishop Pál Tomori struck a victorious blow against the irregular Rumelian troops and surged the Hungarian line forward, the Hungarians came within striking distance of the Sultan Suleiman, and Hungarian bullets struck the Sultan’s cuirass. As the Hungarians pressed forward, the irregular troops were reinforced with regular troops from the reserves; this, combined with a charge by the elite Janissary regiments, allowed the Ottomans to overwhelm the Hungarian offensive, and their left flank faltered completely. The Hungarians suffered heavy casualties from Turkish artillery fire and musket volleys. The Hungarian army was soon surrounded by the Ottoman cavalry as they outmaneuvered the Hungarian troops to entrap them in a pincer attack. The Hungarian center, composed of heavy knights and infantry, collapsed under the barrage of Turkish fire. The Hungarian royal army was vanquished, and those who refused to flee were killed or captured. During the chaotic retreat, Louis II was killed by a volley of arquebus shots that struck him across his back and his neck, shredding his armor and knocking the king from his horse. When the king was found after the battle in a nearby stream, the water was soaked crimson—his body a mess of bloody viscera. Louis II was the first monarch to be killed in battle by gunfire. The result at Bár was catastrophic for the Hungarians: aside from the king, some 1000 nobles and other military leaders lost their lives, and some 14,000 troops were killed. Sultan Suleiman was in awe at the Hungarian defeat, and believing that it must be a trick, he held back several days before daring to put his troops back on the march. Some 2000 prisoners were executed before the Sultan ordered the army to march onwards—Suleiman watched the massacre from atop a throne of gold.
The death of the king threw the kingdom into complete chaos—news of the defeat and the king’s death reached Queen Mary a day after the battle, which threw the queen into deep mourning. “She is a shadow of herself,” One anonymous courtier wrote. “Pale and shaken—but eyes as determined as ever. Despite the strain of this heavy news, her focus remained entirely upon Hungary—and her daughter, little Elizabeth.” For the rest of her life, the queen would wear a heart-shaped locket that had been worn by the king at Bár and found upon him after his death. In the aftermath of the king’s death, Mary attempted to gather support from across the factions of nobility to proclaim her daughter as Queen of Hungary, with herself as regent. But with the Turkish army marching forward, the idea received very little support. With the kingdom thrown into heavy turmoil, there were many—especially the petty nobility—who looked for a king and military leader to deliver Hungary from its present situation. This was no time for an infant monarch—most especially a girl. Mary was soon pressed by her supporters to take leave from the capital—with the collapse of the royal army, the capital was undefended, and few wished for the queen or for the king’s daughter to fall into Turkish hands. Mary wasted little time and departed from Buda to Viségrad—home to the Holy Crown of Hungary. Mary, like her predecessor Elizabeth of Luxembourg, conspired to smuggle the Holy Crown away from Viségrad—ostensibly to keep it from falling into the clutches of the Turks, but to ensure she would hold the insignia that might make her daughter queen. With the aid of one of the crown guards, Mary arranged for the crown, along with other pieces of the Hungarian crown jewels, to be packed into a trunk with a box of jewels and furs that she had brought along with her. Rather than staying overnight in Viségrad, Mary and her retinue immediately departed, moving at a furious pace until they reached Pozsony, where Mary set up her court—and where Anne had been residing for several months.
Soon after Mary’s escape from Buda, the Ottomans reached the royal capital. Undefended and left for the picking, the Ottomans were merciless as they sacked the capital of the Hungarian crown. They pillaged and seized whatever they could, carrying away treasures from both Buda Castle and the homes of the great magnates. Following their attack on Buda, Sultan Suleiman decided that his work was done. Hungary was now in chaos and would pose no threat to him. Rather than impose a victory or sovereign upon the kingdom, he decided that he would withdraw back to his own domains and allow the nobility to have their petty squabbles. The Ottoman retreat left a power vacuum in Hungary; while Mary ostensibly claimed to be regent as Queen Dowager, a secondary font of power began to develop around John Zápolya—one of the few magnates to come through the Ottoman invasion with his troops intact, as he had not been present at the disastrous Battle of Bár. “I must ask that you send support as soon as possible,” Mary wrote furiously to her brother, the emperor. “Louis is gone, and my situation is more precarious than ever… Elizabeth is the rightful successor, the rightful queen of this kingdom—yet I cannot demand their allegiance from my present position. Each day, the dreaded Zápolya grows stronger… I fear he will clasp the crown from my daughter’s head.” Mary’s fears were well founded—with each passing day, Zápolya’s influence grew stronger, supported by the late king’s sister, Anne.
Engraving of John Zápolya.
Though Anne remained at Pozsony during and through the Battle of Bár, she did not remain long after Mary’s arrival. When Zápolya arrived in Buda, he wrote to the princess, stating, “The way is clear now for you to return to Buda, where you rightfully belong. There is no need for you to sulk in exile—that is the place of the late queen, not you. Her time has ended. Your time is now. Come to Buda. I await; I wish to be your husband—and I wish to be your king. And you shall be my queen.” Anne certainly found herself drawn to Zápolya’s wishes and desires—his ambition and his need for power were beyond attractive to a princess who had spent over a decade engaged to a man she had never met. It was little surprise that Anne decided that her fate belonged with John Zápolya—when her options were limited to a possible exile in Bohemia or Poland, with no say or control over her own fate. Princess Anne arrived in Buda in October of 1526—shortly after her arrival, she married John Zápolya secretly at Buda Castle. A month later, Zápolya summoned a diet at Székesfehérvár, which consisted primarily of the lower nobility. The diet voted not only to grant Princess Anna the revenues and lands previously held by Queen Mary, which were taken from her, but also to offer the Hungarian crown to John Zápolya. Zápolya duly accepted the offer of the diet and was proclaimed King of Hungary the next day—he was crowned, but without the Holy Crown, which was discovered to be missing.
While many of the lesser nobles had sided with Zápolya, there remained an important faction of magnates who remained attached to the pro-Habsburg cause of Queen Mary. A rump diet consisting of pro-Habsburg magnates was hosted at Pozsony in December of 1526—the diet not only declared that Princess Elizabeth was Louis II’s legitimate heiress but also named Mary as regent of the kingdom. The young Elizabeth was crowned using the Holy Crown, and the stage was soon set for a division of the kingdom into warring factions—but Zápolya, with his Transylvanian troops, remained one of the most potent forces in Hungary. “When the king discovered that the late queen had absconded with the Holy Crown, he was furious,” Wrote one of Zápolya’s supporters in his memoirs. “He wrote to the late queen, demanding that the crown be returned to him. In return, he promised to ensure that the queen would be granted a suitable establishment for her widowhood and that funds for Princess Elizabeth would be provided as well.” It was clear that Zápolya did not recognize the claims of Mary or her supporters about the late king’s daughter, rendering any sort of solution between the two squabbling factions impossible and ensuring that they could not collaborate against the future Ottoman threat. The envoys of King John soon fanned out across Europe, seeking support and recognition, with France offering positive support to Hungary’s new king.
Mary’s lack of support from her brother the emperor put her into a precarious situation—the only military forces at her disposal were the 5000 troops that had been raised in Croatia by Christoph Frankopan—who remained an adherent[1] to the queen and her cause, becoming one of her primary and most trusted advisors. The queen, in return, lavished rewards upon the Frankopan family—one of her first decrees was to mandate the return of lands and estates seized from the Frankopan family by King Matthias in 1469—lands they had tried to reclaim in vain in 1523. It was little surprise that the divisions in Hungary soon spilled over into Croatia: dueling diets were held at Samobor and Virovitica; while the Samobor Diet was prepared to recognize the rights of Elizabeth to her father’s inheritance, the Virovitica Diet, composed mostly of the lower Slavonian nobility, supported John Zápolya as their rightful king. Mary would name Christoph as Ban of Croatia—while Zápolya would support John Tahy for the role.
In this difficult period, Mary would draw much solace from religion—but not the Orthodox Catholicism of her family. Martin Luther sent the queen a booklet as well as four psalms, which he dedicated to her and Princess Elizabeth, providing much-needed relief to the queen in the difficult days of her widowhood. Mary began a correspondence with Luther, writing in one letter that, “Your words have been of much comfort to me in these most difficult times—when I am alone and must be a rock for not only my daughter, but so many others… It is hard to believe the years I spent with a veil over my eyes—a veil which you have lifted with your teachings…” Mary took into her household Matthias Dévai Biro as her court preacher—a Franciscan priest with Protestant sympathies. He would later study at Wittenburg under both Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon. The disastrous defeat at Bár had practically neutered the Hungarian church; over half of its bishops perished in battle, and the grave unrest meant that neither John Zápolya nor Mary were willing to enforce the anti-Lutheran edicts that had been passed in 1523. The chaotic situation in Hungary helped make the kingdom fertile ground for the reformation and its ideas. Mary’s flirtation with Protestantism caused dismay among some of her supporters—most especially the heavily Catholic Croats—and caused issues with her brother, the emperor, as well, who urged Mary to dismiss Biro and cease any active contact with Luther.
Landscape with a large cannon, c. 1518.
These squabbles gave Zápolya the upper hand, for divisions among Mary’s supporters weakened her own cause desperately. In 1528, Zápolya’s cause grew as he overcame the troops of Christoph Frankopan at the Battle of Varazdin, with Frankopan killed in battle. With Mary’s prime military force in Hungary now vanquished, Zápolya ordered his troops to move into western Hungary, where Mary’s adherents had set up their rival governments, with their first task being to seize Pozsony—and to take the queen dowager and little princess as captives. With the deteriorating situation, Mary was urged by her supporters to leave Hungary and seek refuge. Though Mary was reluctant to give up the fight, she knew that she could not remain. “The queen was valiant in those last hours,” Ursula Röhr, an attendant to the queen, wrote in her private diary. “Despite the worries of the servants, her courage put everyone to rest. Due to the haste with which the queen needed to depart, she knew that she would be forced to take only what was necessary, and her primary concern was the Holy Crown of Hungary. She ordered it packed into a trunk with a hidden compartment… with the trunk packed with the queen’s most mundane items: her chemises. The trunk was scented with valerian and garlic—giving it a most noxious odor to ward away curiosities…” When King John’s troops captured Pozsony after a brief siege, the queen and her daughter were long gone, having crossed the frontier into Bohemia. The king was infuriated to discover that she had escaped—but more than that, she had escaped with the Holy Crown. Some of Mary’s jewelry—those not pawned from her already dim collection—was abandoned by the queen in her haste to escape from Hungary. John Zápolya gleefully appropriated what remained left behind and bestowed the jewels upon his wife. Several trunks of silk and gowns were also discovered, which Anne happily divided among her suite of ladies.
Mary was safe—and she soon found refuge in the city of Brün, in Bohemia. The death of Louis II had left Bohemia in an interregnum—in 1497, it was agreed that Bohemia could elect its next king should their monarch die without heirs, but some argued that the king did have a potential heir: Princess Elizabeth. Princess Anne, the late king’s sister—now Queen of Hungary—was discounted because of her marriage to John Zápolya; it had been performed without the consent of the Bohemian Diet, and thus her succession rights were considered void[2]. John Zápolya also had no interest in pursuing the Bohemian Crown; his focus was on Hungary and ensuring his reign was undisputed there. Aside from Louis’ daughter, there were also potential successors from among the great Bohemian nobility; there were the two grandsons of George of Podiebrad: Charles, the Duke of Münsterberg-Oels, and Frederick II, the Duke of Legnica. Znedek of Rozmital, the Supreme Burgrave, and Vojtech of Pernstejn, a Moravian magnate. There were also possible foreign candidates: John, the Elector of Saxony; George, the Duke of Saxony—as a son of Sidonie Podiebrad; Joachim, the Elector of Brandenburg; Louis X, the Duke of Bavaria—and even King François of France. Support for the next monarch coalesced around three separate parties: those supporting the rights of Princess Elizabeth—this included those who wished to keep close relations to the House of Habsburgs; supporters of the Duke of Bavaria; and those who wished to continue a connection with the House of Jagiellon—supporting the candidacy of the King of Poland.
During the interregnum, the previous administration had continued to govern the kingdom according to its customs and laws while maintaining correspondence with Queen Mary and the Emperor, who had his own interest in the potential election for the Bohemian crown, not wishing for its electoral vote to slip too far from the Habsburgs grasps. Despite his unease with Mary’s contact with Luther, the emperor wrote a tender letter to his sister when news reached him of her safe arrival: “I am gladdened to hear that you have passed out of Hungary safely—though of course it is most unhappy news; I regret that more cannot be done in Hungary… but I am beyond pleased that you are safe.” The emperor’s concern was not merely fraternal; in 1527, Charles V’s wife, the Empress Mary, had safely delivered a son, who had been christened Maximilian, providing the emperor with a male heir nearly six years since the mysterious death of his eldest son, Philip. The emperor saw his sister’s daughter as a prime bride for his son, considering her potential inheritance: Bohemia—along with her rights to Hungary.
View of Prague, c. 16th Century.
Mary stayed for a short time in Brünn before proceeding to Prague. The queen was given a lavish welcome. While her sympathies for Luther had perhaps alienated some of her supporters in Hungary, her views were not unwelcome among the Ultraquist nobility—even those who remained attached to the Catholic Church, such as the Duke of Münsterberg, had a keen interest in Luther’s writings. Queen Mary was allowed to take up residence in Prague Castle and was given access to her dower, giving her an income for the first time since 1526. Arrangements were made for the Bohemian Diet to be summoned in the summer of 1528 to decide Bohemia’s future course. Louis X emptied his coffers to provide bribes to the Bohemian nobility, which damaged his reputation among the nobility. Throughout the spring, the position of Mary was improved when the Diets of Moravia and Silesia—having been excluded from the planned meeting of the Bohemian Diet—recognized Princess Elizabeth’s hereditary rights within those provinces. The Diet of Bohemia was formally opened in July 1528 by Znedek of Rozmital as Supreme Burgrave of Bohemia; Queen Mary was in attendance, seated upon the dais, and she was invited to speak to the assembled men of the diet. “Milords—I thank you for your generosity at a time when it has been so heavily needed. I am but a poor widow, forced to endure the horror after horror that has unfolded since the death of my lord husband, your sovereign king. You have provided the necessary succor not only to his widow but also to his daughter; she is all that remains of him, and it is her, Elizabeth, that is his legitimate heiress.” While it was a radical suggestion that Elizabeth—a young girl of three—should succeed to the Bohemian throne, many within the diet knew that Elizabeth’s succession would come with the backing of support from the emperor—as well as his domains within Austria, of which Queen Mary remained Governor. Mary’s sympathies for Luther also eased the concerns of the Ultraquist nobility—they had little desire to elect someone such as the Duke of Bavaria, who had helped quash the reformation in his own domains.
Though the diet was open to the idea of recognizing Elizabeth’s hereditary rights and elevating her mother to the position of regent, the nobility had certain concerns and demands—laid out in the Capitulation of Prague, which Mary was expected to sign. This included recognition of the Vladislav Land Orders that had been passed in 1500, as well as pledges that no foreigners would be granted political office within the kingdom, nor would they be granted pensions or estates without express agreement from the Diet. It was also agreed that the diet should have a say in Elizabeth’s future marriage, and any future marriage treaty would be subject to the diet’s approval. Other articles of the capitulation concerned Elizabeth and her future position as Queen of Bohemia—it was agreed that her future husband should be crowned King of Bohemia and co-reign alongside her, making it clear that the Bohemian nobility mainly saw Elizabeth’s potential position as queen as an aberration—and one that could be fixed once a suitable husband was found for her. Rather than elevate a dynamic man who might become a strong king, the nobility had elected instead to elevate a young girl[3]—with her mother as regent. The hopes of the Bohemian nobility did not lie in finding a strong husband for their new little monarch—better a young queen, to be joined later by a weak king: to give the nobility all the say they desired over the crown and the kingdom.
[1] In OTL, Christoph Frankopan was attached to the Habsburg cause until he was swayed to Zápolya’s side. Given his increased influence here re: Queen Mary, he remains attached to the imperial cause.
[2] This happened in OTL as well; the Bohemian Estates did not give their consent to Anne’s marriage to Ferdinand, either: her inheritance rights were not recognized, and Ferdinand had to be elected king.
[3]I've found nothing to suggest that women were barred from the Bohemian throne. At best, Bohemia perhaps had a semi-salic law. Bohemian Princesses clearly had some rights of inheritance / succession, given that Anne of Bohemia's rights were debated IOTL, and some provinces (Moravia, Silesia) accepted said rights. In this situation, the election of a young female monarch is purely cynical; the great magnates and nobles hope to dominate the government during the regency, with the intention of finding a weak prince to serve as their future king.
I'm so happy that they got a heir now. Charles's son can inherit the empire and Austria, his brother Spain and the Italian dominions, his daughter Isabella can become queen of France and where little Maria will end up is anyone's guess.
That assumes there are any Italian dominions left to inherit. Charles may be better served giving up Italy and Burgundy and focusing on securing Hungary and Bohemia for his son. Maybe in 10-20 years he will be ready for a re March with Francis.
Spain, with or without the Empire, will regain Naples and Sicily. I don't think anyone on the peninsula would relish the idea of being surrounded by France and her Muslim Allies forever.
France doesn't even have Muslim allies now. They made them as a result of Francis being captured.
Thank you, King of Danes! It certainly went on and on, but I'm happy where it ended. Charles is definitely interested in securing Elizabeth for Maximilian, but whether the Diet of Bohemia will be open to that idea remains to be seen. But Mary is pretty politically astute: I think the Bohemian magnates are probably underestimating her. Bohemia falling to the emperor would probably be able to secure significant autonomy as well, since it'll be governed from Brussels and not directly.
It just remains to be seen how little Elizabeth will be raised, given she'll be in an environment where the reformation is soon to be quite popular, and Mary has obviously taken a keen interest since her husband died.
Absolutely! I do have a few family trees already, I just need to make some edits to them. But I will absolutely post them for you all and add them to the thread mark.
I am as well! And Charles and Mary are very relieved, too. I think for Maria, a likely marriage might be within the empire. The main issue is most of the major secular electors ended up embracing Protestantism IOTL, so there may not be anyone of significant stature for her to marry. I wish she could marry Ferdinand's eldest son (when he has one) but given he's not likely to be wed until ~1526 at the earliest, he may not have a son until 1527 or onward. There would be a five year age gap, which may be too significant. She could be a potential marriage candidate into Portugal, as Eleanor's eldest son is the same age as her, but I'm not sure if the Portuguese marriage would be of much use to the Imperial line.
Unfortunately, I don't see Charles giving up any ground on Italy, and he would never give up the Burgundian inheritance. Bohemia is secure in the person of his niece + sister, so he can absolutely work on securing the marriage in the background. Hungary will be a much different matter, given Mary's hemorrhaged support there, but Elizabeth is still going to maintain those rights there and serve as a potent opposition force. Any heirs she has are going to inherit her claims there, but I wonder if Charles may not be better off leaving the Hungarians be. This certainly won't be the last time the Ottomans decide to interfere there, and any intervention will surely drive Zápolya into the arms of the Ottomans (as happened IOTL).
Well, Spain still has Sicily. The French have only besieged the mainland Kingdom of Naples. But I agree, they aren't going to just let France have it. But they'll also need to deal with mopping up the French in Navarrese, that will likely be their primary focus.
France has not yet made any overtures to the Ottomans, since that alliance came about mainly through the Battle of Pavia. Francis will likely see out Central European allies who can cause trouble for Charles (Hungary, Poland) but if things go south for him in this next conflict heating up, I can absolutely see him reaching out to the Ottomans. The Italian princes who so readily aligned with Francis post-Lodi are already sweating in their breeches about France possibly dominating the peninsula, and will likely swing back towards the emperor.
Correct. Even so, the Franco-Ottoman alliance didn't really come into being until after the League of Cognac IOTL, so in the 1530s. Given that Francis had a great victory at Lodi, there's been no overtures to the Ottomans: they're more likely to seek out friends in Poland and Hungary (Poland has long had an anti-Habsburg foreign policy, and Hungary will definitely have one now that Zápolya is king, who remains anti-Ottoman). If this next war goes belly up, Francis could absolutely reach out to the Ottomans, but we'd probably not look at any true alliance until the 1540s ATL. It also depends what the Ottomans have going on; if Charles did decide to offer Mary support for any sort of Hungarian adventures, the Ottomans will absolutely get involved in Hungary again.
I wonder if things go South in Italy for Francis he couldn't trade his claims for the Burgundian Netherlands, those lands were much richer and were much a bigger threat towards France's border than Italy ever was, plus given it's only the Habsburgs there and it directly bordering France means it's much easier to war there than having to muddle themselves in far away Italy(this is especially true when it comes to Naples) both distance wise and politics wise
It was a case of geography and power plays tbh, the French could hold Lombardy(and the islands of Corsica and Sardinia) if they wanted... But anything beyond that is a tall order as it would stretch their supply lines trying to keep somewhere like Naples well supplied without a strong Mediterranean navy and don't even mention trying to bring in troops across the whole of the Peninsula.
Not to mention the politics aspect of it, no one wanted France to dominate Italy asides from France(and maybe the Ottomans), not the local powers who weren't ride or die with them(especially the Papacy) not the Hapsburgs who wouldn't want to accept the loss of influence and power in the region and not other powers like England or HRE who wouldn't be exactly thrilled with the expansion of French power.
That also brings another aspect where the main force opposing French domination in Italy had/has multiple places on where to attack them from(The pyrenes, the Netherlands, England, the HRE) preventing France from using their sheer numbers to their advantage as they would need to keep presence in multiple places to avoid the kingdom from being ravaged.
It's why my main proposal would be for France to hold Milan(and Savoy and Genoa de facto) and rely on local allies like Venice, Florence and others to counter Spanish influence in the region, especially true if they can get Naples to be a independent kingdom again and place someone friendly to them in the throne, or trade their claim for Naples and the captured territory for lands in the Netherlands which would weaken Hapsburg power there and strengthen France in more immediate ways and especially in future wars. But of course I'm speaking with 20/20 hindsight and Francis wasn't no Louis the Spider so it's unlikely(but not impossible) that Francis will ever think of something like that.
Unfortunately if the Imperials are able to overcome Francis in Italy, they aren't going to be in any sort of mood to negotiate with Francis: most especially after the ridiculous terms he tried to offer at Rambouillet. I can't see any scenario where the emperor would willingly give away the Burgundian inheritance, especially for something that technically belongs to him, such as Naples. There's also the fact that Naples is attached to Spain, and will eventually pass to Ferdinand. All Charles possesses + will pass onto his son at this moment is the Low Countries and Austria, with the Low Countries being the 'core' of his domains. The Low Countries generated a massive amount of Charles' tax revenue, and in some cases provided more than Spain. He has absolutely zero reason to give it up, especially now when Spain is guaranteed to pass to his brother. If Francis can hold on and score victories and make a favorable piece, I think at most he could possibly gain Artois, maybe the County of Burgundy while ensuring Charles has to continue to pay homage for the County of Flanders (still a French fief). IOTL, Charles was able to get France to renounce Flanders and integrate it into the empire.
They definitely do. France in general is a punching bag in most TLs, when 16th century France was one of the most preeminent states of Europe. The fact they were able to go toe to toe with Spain for nearly 50+ years over Italy is utterly amazing. They didn't suffer any territorial loses outside of their conquests in Italy, and actually made some gains elsewhere (Metz + the Three Bishoprics). I do think France 'dominating' Italy (as in owing Naples and Milan) is likely a tall order; they'd have to essentially wear Spain out to the point where they no longer have any interest in Italy, which is essentially what happened in IOTL in the 1550s: both countries were in massive debt and had to declare bankruptcy, and France of course were soon submerged by religious conflict. Either Spain or France is going to have to dominate the peninsula; there won't be any peace in any half measures, such as France keeping Milan and Spain keeping Naples.
I'm definitely trying to turn the trope of France being a punching bag on it's head without veering into unrealistic territory. Francis isn't done in Italy quite yet!
Exactly this. But the problem is, any half measure (France having influence in northern Italy, Spain in the south) is doomed to failure. The emperor is always going to be threatened by France holding part of northern Italy, as that is the path into Rome. Obviously those coronations fell off after Charles V, but it was a very real concern, letting France hold such a vital piece within the Kingdom of Italy, which still remained loosely connected to the HRE.
As for the Italian powers, you're correct. I'd say they weren't too keen on Spanish domination either (hence the swapping alliances so often), but that's how it played out IOTL; with the Sforza dying out, Milan reverted to Charles V, who immediately handed it off to his eldest son. This started the Spanish road and essentially ensured Spain would have forces in northern Italy + southern Italy. Once France was dealt with in the 1550s and became riven by religious conflicts, this left Italy in Spanish hands.
There certainly could be some benefit to using unofficial satraps, mainly Florence and Naples, especially if they can base ships and troops in Naples. But I think eventually, France might find it's self in a situation down the road where those troops are needed elsewhere and it's influence would slacken. I think any French domination of Italy would be shorter lived than the Spanish dominations of OTL. It'll also depend on Francis' successors and how the spread of the reformation goes + how Francis handles it. He was fairly friendly with the Protestants until the Affair of the Placards. Give his main mistress is Anne Boleyn, you can be sure she'll likely embrace Protestantism and may have influence on Francis in that area.
Very true, maybe a king who isn't as ambitious as Francis and more savvy could hold Milan without ruffling Spanish feathers but for now, it seems there will be another war in the horizon for the fate of Italy.
Honestly given butterflies, there's probably no French religious civil war, not even talking about Henry II not dying, but simply Francis deciding direct control of church land is better and having support of at least part of the nobility... Which would be ironic considering most Protestants in France were either rich merchants or nobles who wanted to resist the crown's attempt to centralize the realm. This is very important as Spain OTL was horrifically lucky to have France fall into civil war just as they started to decline and had multiple threats to deal with on their empire(Dutch revolts, Ottomans, Mesoamerican revolts, problems in the Philippines) although here given that the actual valuable Netherlands won't go to Spain, France will most likely keep away from warring with them unless it's about Italy and instead focus their energy on the Netherlands and maybe Calais(and maybe the Chanel Islands too, better late than never)
Well, I think the main thing to keep in mind re: the Capetian House of Anjou is that they were merely French princes. Their French appanages, namely Anjou + Maine returned back into French hands through the marriage of Margaret of Anjou to Charles of Valois. Their main territories were the kingdoms they held outside of France, namely Naples, with another branch in Hungary. They were independent monarchs who had their own independent foreign policy, focused around Sicily, the Adriatic, and the remnants of the Frankocratia in Greece. They weren't beholden to France in any real way except for their French fiefs, and certainly were at times at conflict with their French kin, especially where Provence could be concerned. The geopolitical situation of late medieval Italy was much different from the 16th century as well: Italy was still a collection of independent states, but there weren't any outside powers seeking to dominate the peninsula. The northern parts of Italy remained loosely connected to the Holy Roman Empire through the Kingdom of Italy, but the emperor had long ceased to exercise any real authority south of the alps.
The House of Valois-Anjou were made the heirs of Naples by Joanna I, but there remained extant lines of the Capetian House. Louis I of Anjou never succeeded in claiming the throne from Charles of Durazzo, and his son Louis II only succeeded in controlling a portion of the kingdom for about ten years. René was named heir by the last member of the Capetian House, Joanna II, but he never really had any effective control of the kingdom, IIRC, and was ousted by Alfonso of Aragon. Much like the previous House of Anjou, the Valois-Anjou had their own foreign policy that focused around their claims to Naples and their other holdings. They didn't walk in lockstep with the King of France, and this was the last great hurrah where the great territorial princes of France (Burgundy, Orleans, Brittany, ect.) still had some say in their own destines vs. the crown which was in ascendance. Burgundy of course went their own way through the marriage of Mary to Maximilian of Austria, but most of the other appanages eventually ended up reverting the crown, either through succession (Orleans), the extinction of the line (Anjou in Provence) or marriage (Brittany).
The King of France ruling Naples directly would be a much different situation, as the kingdom and it's resources would be directed towards French ambitions and efforts. I don't think France dominating Italy is impossible: but it'd be a steep hill for them to climb. The idea of indirect rule, with the Angevin heirs regaining Naples is certainly an amazing idea: but bringing it about it definitely would be tricky.
The civil wars were certainly brought about by a myriad of issues, for sure. A weak crown, a series of weak kings, growing factionalism all contributed to the issue. Certainly it will all depend on the French kings eventual successor, since Henri II IOTL differed from his father and was pretty resolute in believing all reformists were heretics, which made any sort of negotiations impossible. Who knows how much Henri II was influenced by his time in Spain as a boy. I'm not sure if Francis would ever take the ultimate step to break away from the church, given he already has a pretty plum deal through the Concordat of Bologna, but I think growth of the reform movement is likely to continue regardless, both the Lutheran and later Calvinist varieties.
There could also be some interesting developments in the Netherlands: it's set here to remain an imperial territory, and the core of the main Burgundian branch (as they will probably be known) of the Habsburg dynasty. It's likely to see the growth of the Reformation there too, especially amongst the urban classes. Charles V being directly in the territory may mean he has more control (IOTL, his regent, Mary of Hungary was rather hands off and didn't enforce her brother's religious edicts) but I think the growth of the reform movement is likely continue there regardless, which could cause it's own set of issues. The Burgundian Habsburgs will certainly be an interesting bunch: they will be the Emperors of the HRE, ruling over largely German speaking princes, but the main core of their territory will be what is now the Netherlands, and could end up Catholics ruling over polities with significant Protestant populations. With their capital based in Brussels, these emperors are likely to be primarily French speaking as their first language; French will likely be the language of their court and administration, and they will be highly influenced by French culture.
I definitely agree, while I don't think we'll see a full on Calvinist France, a Gallican style church that is all but independent of Rome and under the thumb of the crown way earlier would be likely, especially as a tool of further crown control of the realm and destruction of certain privileges the clergy has(like not paying taxes wink wink nudge nudge) but it would still be interesting to see a France not fully dedicated to destroying the Calvinists could develop.
Honestly one of the biggest factors in the growth of Calvinism in the Netherlands was because it was seen as less of a religious fringe movement(Protestants were a minority in the Netherlands) and more tied to the cause of independence against a seemingly bloodthirsty Spain so it grew in popularity to the point it was the majority faith in the 7 provinces, so I think that with the Hapsburgs remaining there, not throwing money and overtaxing the population to fund foreign adventures(too much at least) as well as the very real French menace next door who would never miss a chance to chip away more of the Netherlands, I could see the great majority of the population remaining Catholic with Calvinism being more popular with the merchant and guild classes.
This also ties into another thing as without having to worry much about Spain given they're separate, France can better focus it's troops and resources on trying to conquer the Burgundian Inheritance which would lead into several wars between the Valois and Hapsburgs over the land which could happen in critical moments for the Hapsburgs like during the peasant's wars, Lutheran insurrection or Ottoman encroachment into Eastern and Central Europe, especially as the Mediterranean would remain an important battleground.
Now that we have an anti-Habsburg Hungary, couldn't it mean a reversion of roles regarding France and the HRE and their relations with the Ottomans? Hungary is still an avenue for further conquest for the Porte, but now the Habsburgs do not have a direct border with the Ottomans, só they aren't a major concern. For Charles (and Mary in Bohemia) an state of constant warfare between Zapolya and the Turks is interesting in order to destabilize their "usurper" rule.
In the other hand, the Valois could try to use Hungary against Austria the same way Scotland is useful to them against England. Maybe France could even send the Hungarians some military support against the Ottomans in order to have an alliance with Zapolya.
In the other hand, the Valois could try to use Hungary against Austria the same way Scotland is useful to them against England. Maybe France could even send the Hungarians some military support against the Ottomans in order to have an alliance with Zapolya.
Would they not be speaking Flemish/Dutch with a capital in Brussels? I could also imagine them not choosing to use French in court as a deliberate f**k you to France. Especially after this latest humiliation. Also, would it be too farfetched for German to be based on low german ttl and not high german? Iirc it was based on Luther’s bible otl (so based on a Saxon dialect) but that could maybe change here? It would mean that there would be very little difference between ttl’s German and Dutch perhaps to a point where it would be considered one language, which would help with Dutch integration into Germany
I can’t really see the Austrian Habsburgs allying with the Turks even if it would be advantageous. Firstly, the Spanish branch is still threatened by them, so it would stab the family in the back. Secondly, it would go against the whole defender of Christendom thing that the HRE goes for and recognizing them would also mean recognition of their inheritance of Eastern Rome which itself drags up the whole “who is the inheritor of Rome” thing. Francis was desperate for allies otl, so he chose to ally with the Ottomans, but it was a huge gamechanger and considered unthinkable at the time, due to the religious differences, and I don’t see the Austrians do it here. They already have (somewhat reliable) allies in Portugal and England here (and likely Spain once Charles is dead and his inheritance is split)
Are the Spanish possesions really so threatened? The closest território to them would be Southern Italy, but Hungary provides a avenue of expansion without the need for a naval invasion. There is Algeria, but it was only a vassal state, not an Ottoman territory. Morocco, that threatened Spanish possesions more directly, didn't accept Ottoman suzerainity.
Anyway, there is the matter of France and Hungary. If the Zapolya dinasty remains stablished in Hungary and receiving French support against Austria and an Habsburg allied Bohemia, maybe Charles wouldn't personally support the Ottoman, but one of his heirs could see some logic in it.
That's definitely an interesting perspective, Gonzaga! I'm unsure if Charles V would ever take the leap of an open alliance with the Ottomans... there's still overlapping areas, at least so long as Charles remains King of Spain that can be potential barriers, mainly North Africa and the Barbary Pirates. I also think that Charles V was probably less pragmatic in that circumstance as Francis was. Zápolya initially had a fairly anti-Turkish foreign policy at the start, but that completely fell away when Ferdinand invaded Hungary in 1528-29, and Zápolya got forced into exile in Poland and looked towards the Ottomans to restore him. I'd say Zápolya's position is a lot stronger here, since Mary wasn't able to command the same level of support from among the Hungarian magnates as Ferdinand did IOTL. Zápolya's anti-Habsburg policies ultimately became more important than his anti-Ottoman ones.
Francis initially pursued an alliance with Hungary in the late 1520s; I believe this was after Zápolya's deposition and his about turn to the Ottomans. But I can absolutely see Francis still reaching out, probably also looking towards Poland. Hungary may no longer be under the Jagiellonian dynasty, but it does have a Jagiellonian queen who supports the politics of her husband. I think a triple alliance of France-Hungary-Poland aimed against the Habsburgs is likely to come about in this next war. Zápolya had no real interest in Bohemia, but perhaps his wife will convince him that perhaps he should take an interest in it...
I don't think the separation of the two branches necessarily means that France is just going to have easy pickings of the Netherlands. Their foreign policy is likely to still be dictated by fears of Habsburg encirclement, and the two branches are likely to continue to work together in areas of mutual interest, of which containing France will probably be of a primary interest. A strong France is a threat to Spain just as much as it is to the Empire. There's a long storied history of Franco-Spanish conflict, long before the Italian Wars, and that rivalry is certain to remain. I think the ATL Spanish kings will certainly have a different policy from the OTL Spanish Habsburgs, who saw themselves as the defenders of Catholicism, but you could see the ATL Spanish kings cloak their policy in similar religious views.
Not necessarily. Charles V knew Flemish, but French was his primary language, and French was the primary language within the Southern Netherlands (what is now Belgium) among the upper classes. Even with the OTL conflict, Charles still remained a French speaker and French influenced: the Spanish court ceremonials were directly influenced by the Burgundian court ceremonials, and some Spanish court titles were directly translated from French, such as the Sumiller de Corps. Given that Brussels is to be the capital, and most of the administrators will be drawn from the French speaking nobility, French will likely remain the primary / prestige language for the immediate future. Any change in court language / language of administration would be gradual, not right away. I can definitely see a patriotic rejection of French further down the line however: probably in favor of Flemish or Dutch.
As for German's development: I'm not a linguist, or know much about language history so it's really hard to say. Given that Luther is still around, you will probably still see Low German have an influence on ATL's modern German. The Dutch language was already beginning to evolve from Middle Dutch into Modern Dutch anywhere from c. 1500 to 1550, so I think it's still likely that there will be some divergence between the two languages. If the Netherlands remains attached to the empire, however, perhaps there will be more Germanic influence. Modern Dutch and German already have some similarities; they aren't exactly mutually intelligible in the way that Flemish or say Dutch would be, but when written down the two languages have a lot of things in common.
I'd also argue that Charles isn't exactly brimming with allies, either: England left the last conflict with nothing. Catherine's political position isn't as strong as it was prior to the Italian War of 1521; she led England into a conflict that earned them nothing, and even lost them the city of Boulogne. England will probably be sitting out this next round, to jump in would further weaken Catherine's political position, and she may not get so sweet a deal from France this second go around. It could also put Calais at risk. There's also no guarantee that Mary (and later John) will blindly follow a pro-Spanish foreign policy the way Catherine has.
In Portugal, John III was always pretty good at threading the balance between France and Spain, which is exactly what he's intending to do here. Portugal and Spain also have their own issues, primarily colonial bickering over territories and demarcations. I'm also unsure how much help Portugal would really be to the Imperial line, outside of naval / financial support.