Anno Obumbratio: A 16th Century Alternate History

[DrakeRlugia]

Can only King of Danes make suggestions related to Scotland? I have some ideas of my own.

Absolutely not! Anyone can send me anything they'd like.

Am seconding Poland and Sweden!
Will admit to also wanting a look at Muscovy though, even if just a quick peek...

I'll add Muscovy to the list! They could definitely be worked into a Poland focused chapter, as Poland and Lithuania's neighbor. I have some interesting ideas for Muscovy too, with butterflies effecting the births of a certain Grand Prince's sons...

 

[Prince of Permsia]

Oh and it has been four years since we heard from Hungary. Might want an update on that.

 

[DrakeRlugia]

Oh and it has been four years since we heard from Hungary. Might want an update on that.

Absolutely! We need to see if Zápolya has finally succeeded in having a son, or how the aftermath of the Turkish attack on Vienna effected Hungary.

 

[Shevek23]

Looking at the map, I am curious about whether Bohemia and Ireland are already significantly in a different situation than OTL. Certainly looking forward, if we project a very different general situation in both their regions, they must surely react differently in those different circumstances.

As far as Bohemia goes, I am mainly interested in hearing about it to the extent it is going to survive as a somewhat distinct and independent power within the Imperial system, or break from that system, either on its own or by being subordinated to some rival power in the region. And of course anything interestingly different from OTL!

For Ireland--I wonder whether the map showing "red" for English effective power (for a certain value of effective anyway) is pretty much similar to OTL under Edward and Elizabeth at this early date, or whether it already shows a different stirring of the pot of English influence in Ireland.

OTL the Tudors doubled down on English imperial power in Ireland, I gather, and the expansion of English effective power versus some regions of the island standing apart enough to merit their own independent coloring was a matter of expanding English centralized power, also in a sort of alliance with the Calvinist Scots colonizing Ulster. Then of course Cromwell rather famously or infamously undertook a lot of head-knocking and imposing general English supremacy.

Here on the other hand, without either the English or Scottish crowns having broken with Roman Catholic allegiance on the one hand, and there being some doubt about Anglo-Scottish union on the other, I would guess that over time the pattern of specifically English influence to the point of hegemony--and also that of Scotland, mapped separately out of the non-red territories leaving a few of them as 3rd to Nth powers remaining in Ireland--would be more a matter of local opportunity. This or that petty lord in Ireland finds it advantageous to at least profess to submit to English overlordship, in return for at least peace with the more firmly controlled English territories and perhaps cooperation in some form on some scale in their intra-Irish quarrelling; others with some reason fear any such playing footsie with the Tudor monarchy that claims overlordship over all of them alike but in fact is based in a few strongholds will just erode their position as time passes and refuse to play along as far as they are able--and perhaps some of them turn to the Scots as a countervailing power?

so it might not surprise me if the map simply shows what terrain the English had effective supemacy over at this early date is pretty much the territory Elizabeth OTL did control, with the major divergences happening later; vice versa if they are different I would suppose that is the result of the author gaming out for some time and in some rigor an alternate progress and flux there.

If the latter, getting the inside baseball on it would be nice sooner or later, as it becomes pointedly relevant to say the English perhaps, oras it majorly diverges from OT.

 

[Leonidas]

Here on the other hand, without either the English or Scottish crowns having broken with Roman Catholic allegiance on the one hand, and there being some doubt about Anglo-Scottish union on the other

I thought Scotland was still going Calvinist ITTL?

 

[Grand_Panjandrum]

How did the last years of Peter Martyr d'Anghiera's life go? I imagine he was quite happy to see the Burgundian councillors run out of Spain, whom he saw as the cause of all of Spain's problems. In his very gossipy letters, he derisively called the Lord of Chièvres the very appropriate nickname "the goat."

 

[BlueFlowwer]

How did the last years of Peter Martyr d'Anghiera's life go? I imagine he was quite happy to see the Burgundian councillors run out of Spain, whom he saw as the cause of all of Spain's problems. In his very gossipy letters, he derisively called the Lord of Chièvres the very appropriate nickname "the goat."

He most likely did backflips of joy.

 

[Shevek23]

I thought Scotland was still going Calvinist ITTL?

That was much more likely in OTL with England going Anglican though, particularly since Anglicanism immediately became very diverse and polarized between High Church types who basically carried over Catholic practice just with Henry VIII and successors serving as the pontiff too, to a whole broad range of esoteric or anyway quite heterodox doctrines, including a big streak tending toward quite hard core Calvinism there too.

I certainly think the social factors that paved the way to Scotland becoming doctrinally Calvinist must have considerable force here too of course.

The difference is, instead of snapping into two opposed pieces of Protestant versus Catholic here, for the moment the Catholic Church is being stretched pretty hard, like taffy, and in many different directions to boot, but in most of Europe the Protestants are generally still accepted to be basically faithful Catholics with some major doctrinal disagreements. If the various states involved can learn to work with such plurality, and the Curia finds it has to engage in ongoing dialog with critics who have serious reservations about this or that point all the time and they can't just silence them but must engage still, then say Scotland can acquire a pretty strong Protestant streak, resembling the Puritans within the Anglican community, and there even outnumber the more Romanishly inclined, but quid pro quo not suppress them just for that reason alone, in return for such Calvinist Scots being recognized as Catholics still.

Of course OTL the Protestants generally did not want to be recognized as Catholics at all, they had concluded the Roman Church was of the devil and wanted no part of it. That's the horizon that has not been crossed very many places in this ATL yet, and perhaps never will be in Britain or many other places. Individuals certainly will act more as OTL but those people will have to either keep their dissidence covert or go into exile to one of the few places that have crossed that horizon by now.

If the ATL developments involve the right moves by the Curia and moderates in the controversy, Protestantism emerges historically as a major reform movement within the Catholic church and not as a rupture of it.

So yes, they could go Calvinist, as much so as OTL, and perhaps remain considered Catholic anyway and value that somewhat themselves.

Though actually in any sort of TL where such tolerances are extended, I would also expect OTL polarization to be much moderated--more traditionalist Scots, fewer rigorous Calvinists. Though still quite a lot of the latter and maybe the former are outnumbered decisively?

 

[DrakeRlugia]

Looking at the map, I am curious about whether Bohemia and Ireland are already significantly in a different situation than OTL. Certainly looking forward, if we project a very different general situation in both their regions, they must surely react differently in those different circumstances.

As far as Bohemia goes, I am mainly interested in hearing about it to the extent it is going to survive as a somewhat distinct and independent power within the Imperial system, or break from that system, either on its own or by being subordinated to some rival power in the region. And of course anything interestingly different from OTL!

For Ireland--I wonder whether the map showing "red" for English effective power (for a certain value of effective anyway) is pretty much similar to OTL under Edward and Elizabeth at this early date, or whether it already shows a different stirring of the pot of English influence in Ireland.

OTL the Tudors doubled down on English imperial power in Ireland, I gather, and the expansion of English effective power versus some regions of the island standing apart enough to merit their own independent coloring was a matter of expanding English centralized power, also in a sort of alliance with the Calvinist Scots colonizing Ulster. Then of course Cromwell rather famously or infamously undertook a lot of head-knocking and imposing general English supremacy.

Here on the other hand, without either the English or Scottish crowns having broken with Roman Catholic allegiance on the one hand, and there being some doubt about Anglo-Scottish union on the other, I would guess that over time the pattern of specifically English influence to the point of hegemony--and also that of Scotland, mapped separately out of the non-red territories leaving a few of them as 3rd to Nth powers remaining in Ireland--would be more a matter of local opportunity. This or that petty lord in Ireland finds it advantageous to at least profess to submit to English overlordship, in return for at least peace with the more firmly controlled English territories and perhaps cooperation in some form on some scale in their intra-Irish quarrelling; others with some reason fear any such playing footsie with the Tudor monarchy that claims overlordship over all of them alike but in fact is based in a few strongholds will just erode their position as time passes and refuse to play along as far as they are able--and perhaps some of them turn to the Scots as a countervailing power?

so it might not surprise me if the map simply shows what terrain the English had effective supemacy over at this early date is pretty much the territory Elizabeth OTL did control, with the major divergences happening later; vice versa if they are different I would suppose that is the result of the author gaming out for some time and in some rigor an alternate progress and flux there.

If the latter, getting the inside baseball on it would be nice sooner or later, as it becomes pointedly relevant to say the English perhaps, oras it majorly diverges from OT.

RE: Bohemia. It all really hinges upon the marriage plans for Bohemia's queen, Elisabeth: daughter of Louis II of Hungary and Mary of Austria. She's still a young girl at this point and her mother holds the regency, and has recently embraced the Protestant communion. Despite this, and given her continual issues with Hungary, Mary is likely to want to maintain warm relations with her brother, the emperor. There's also the fact that Elisabeth is of an age to wed Charles' son and heir, Maximilian, and that is a marriage that Charles would be happy to bring to fruition. Per the Capitulation of Prague, the Bohemian Diet retains a say over the queen's future marriage and any marriage treaty is subject to their approval. The Bohemian nobles have little desire in finding a strong king to serve as sovereign alongside their queen: they're more than happy to find someone pliable so that they themselves may be able to continue to have a say in the government of the kingdom. There will certainly be a party to encourage an imperial match, especially if it means removing their sovereign from Prague and essentially putting Bohemia's government firmly into the hands of the nobility. Just as others will oppose it as an extension of imperial power.

RE: Ireland. The map shows England's effective control as far as the Pale and allied Irish Earls go, as it was in 1500. The situation is not much different than the OTL 1530s. There are the chiefdoms which are independently colored white, and it's probably hard to see, but the whole of Ireland is outlined in English pink, with the isle remaining within the dominion of the English. The Scottish crown has no influence or interest in Ireland at this point. Scotland's last real influence in Ireland was probably nearly two hundred years ago, when Robert Bruce's brother was briefly named High King of Ireland before his Scots-Irish army was routed by English troops. I can't say that any of the Irish chiefs, even in the Ulster region are looking towards Scotland as a potential protector, nor do they really need too. Marian rule in Ireland at this point is very much business as usual as far as Tudor politics in Ireland go. Without the massive disruptions introduced by Henry VIII's religious reformation and England retaining fairly friendly relations with the Anglo-Irish Earls, there hasn't been much trouble there. Mary hasn't attempted to regulate Irish landownership the way her father did (surrender and regrant), nor have there been any plantations. Of course that could all change, but at this point we're discussing changes that could be decades down the line. Neither Catherine's regency nor Mary's reign (thus far) have attempted to introduce any innovations into the government there.

I thought Scotland was still going Calvinist ITTL?

I mean, I suppose it could. But England's lack of reformation will likely change the face of the Scottish reformation: though continuing connections with France mean that Scottish reformers might come into contact with French ones. There's also the fact that the removal of James V has completely changed the state of the late Renaissance Scottish Church: James V had lots of bastard sons that he placed into church positions in order to divert income towards the crown. Alexander IV, with his, ah... divergent interests, is quite unlikely to have this issue. You're still going to have the issue of declining monastic life in Scotland, moral issues amongst the Scottish clergy (concubinage, ect) as well as the fact that Pius V gave Alexander IV more rights over Scottish benefice appointments and the right to tax monastic incomes: so it's still likely that the crown could impoverish the Scottish church, and that instead of bastards, Alexander IV's lovers could come to dominate Scottish church positions instead.

How did the last years of Peter Martyr d'Anghiera's life go? I imagine he was quite happy to see the Burgundian councillors run out of Spain, whom he saw as the cause of all of Spain's problems. In his very gossipy letters, he derisively called the Lord of Chièvres the very appropriate nickname "the goat."

I imagine he had a very good life. He likely received some sort of position from Ferdinand similar to his OTL appointment to the Council of the Indies, and perhaps even still received the Abbacy of Jaimaca.

That was much more likely in OTL with England going Anglican though, particularly since Anglicanism immediately became very diverse and polarized between High Church types who basically carried over Catholic practice just with Henry VIII and successors serving as the pontiff too, to a whole broad range of esoteric or anyway quite heterodox doctrines, including a big streak tending toward quite hard core Calvinism there too.

I certainly think the social factors that paved the way to Scotland becoming doctrinally Calvinist must have considerable force here too of course.

The difference is, instead of snapping into two opposed pieces of Protestant versus Catholic here, for the moment the Catholic Church is being stretched pretty hard, like taffy, and in many different directions to boot, but in most of Europe the Protestants are generally still accepted to be basically faithful Catholics with some major doctrinal disagreements. If the various states involved can learn to work with such plurality, and the Curia finds it has to engage in ongoing dialog with critics who have serious reservations about this or that point all the time and they can't just silence them but must engage still, then say Scotland can acquire a pretty strong Protestant streak, resembling the Puritans within the Anglican community, and there even outnumber the more Romanishly inclined, but quid pro quo not suppress them just for that reason alone, in return for such Calvinist Scots being recognized as Catholics still.

Of course OTL the Protestants generally did not want to be recognized as Catholics at all, they had concluded the Roman Church was of the devil and wanted no part of it. That's the horizon that has not been crossed very many places in this ATL yet, and perhaps never will be in Britain or many other places. Individuals certainly will act more as OTL but those people will have to either keep their dissidence covert or go into exile to one of the few places that have crossed that horizon by now.

If the ATL developments involve the right moves by the Curia and moderates in the controversy, Protestantism emerges historically as a major reform movement within the Catholic church and not as a rupture of it.

So yes, they could go Calvinist, as much so as OTL, and perhaps remain considered Catholic anyway and value that somewhat themselves.

Though actually in any sort of TL where such tolerances are extended, I would also expect OTL polarization to be much moderated--more traditionalist Scots, fewer rigorous Calvinists. Though still quite a lot of the latter and maybe the former are outnumbered decisively?

You're off the mark in regards to Catholic perception re: Protestants IATL.

The Protestants IATL are not seen as Catholics with doctrinal disagreements. The only real attempt at reconciliation has been in Germany, through a Synod proposed by the emperor, held without Papal attendance or approval. And as far as finding a solution for a possible reunion, it was a complete failure in that regard. Martin thundered against the Pope as the anti-Christ, while a Catholic bishop was all but booed by the Protestants when attempting to defend Papal authority over the church. Many Protestants see the Catholic hierarchy and curia just as fiendish as they did IOTL. They could find no common ground at this Synod, except on the matter of communion, with Catholics begrudgingly agreeing that there's no real doctrinal reason to deny a communion of both kinds. But there were no agreements between both sides to bring about any sort of reconciliation, and Charles used the Synod as a vehicle to pursue political reforms with the Catholic party. In England, the heresy laws have been updated to include Protestants, and a heresy court was formed under Catherine's aegis to prosecute heresy cases. Some might liken it to an English Inquisition, but it's more public facing and not secretive at all. France has it's own growing pains with the religious movement; though Francis remains friendly with the Protestant Princes of Germany, his growing Italian domains means that he must balance that against the needs of his Catholic Italian allies. He can only thread the line for so long before he's going to be forced to take a side; he does have reformists in his life, such as his sister and mistress, but if French reformers get overly bold like OTL with the Affair of the Placards, they're likely to be repressed.

There remain too many possible bridges and gaps for any sort of reunion between the two parties, and each year that passes further solidifies their position as such. Their worldviews remain worlds apart, and the Synod is perhaps the first time that Charles V recognizes that Protestant faith isn't a mere heresy or even a disagreement within the Catholic Church: it's warped into something completely different. I think there's been some confusion in the Honorian / Gallican influence that is gaining steam within the Catholic hierarchy in Germany. In that, they see the emperor as the defender of Catholic rights and liberties and seek to extend imperial control over the Catholic Church within the empire, similar to the state of the Catholic Church in France. The new Concordat has is a reconciliation between the Pope and the Emperor and an extension of state control over the Catholic Church: but it says nothing about the Protestants.

Now, is it possible that down the road some Lutherans could be won back into the fold through the development of a German-rite Catholicism? Totally. But unfortunately, we're moving into the second decade of this religious controversy. There are many Protestants IATL, just IOTL, that have no interest in seeking accommodation with the Catholic Church. There's not going to be any grand reconciliation between both sides and the (Catholic) Christendom reunified. We've moved past this point, and unfortunately, and expecting 16th century princes or the 16th century Curia in the 1530s/1540s to embrace the ideas of plurality and tolerance for one another is extremely unlikely. Charles V has been constrained mainly by political concerns, and while the Turkish invasion has provided him some cover to gain Protestant support, he's still extremely likely to act against them as soon as it's feasible for him.

There's also the fact that we're also entering the second generation now of religious reformers: Luther is getting older, as is Melanchthon, and there are many more cropping up with each passing year with their own ideas and views on things. The religious Reformation is far from over, and we're still likely to see a Europe of patchy religious inclinations, even if Catholicism persists in other areas (Denmark+Norway, England and Scotland).

 

[King of Danes]

it's still likely that the crown could impoverish the Scottish church, and that instead of bastards, Alexander IV's lovers could come to dominate Scottish church positions instead.

“Write that down! Write that down!”

 

[Andristan]

I would love to see an update on the Med, north Africa, Greece, the Knights Hospitaller. Getting the Ionian Islands from Venice, including Corfu, does that increase the Italian influence in the Knights, making them less a French organization? With the English still Catholic, their Langue will not disappear as in OTL in 1570s. The Johannesorder could be a vehicle for cooperation between Protestant and Catholic in Germany as it kinda was in OTL, the Protestant princes still wanted the connection to the crusades/defenders of Christendom and tried to protestant-ize the commanderies in their realms. Did Spain take Djerba and Tunis or does it remain in Barbary hands?
I also think a look at Ireland, Scotland, England and the New World would be interesting, also, how did Iceland make out in the dynastic war over Denmark?
I wouldnt mind being a Knight naval commander if you were so inclined or an Irish petty chief

 

[Madhukar_Shah]

Now, is it possible that down the road some Lutherans could be won back into the fold through the development of a German-rite Catholicism? Totally. But unfortunately, we're moving into the second decade of this religious controversy. There are many Protestants IATL, just IOTL, that have no interest in seeking accommodation with the Catholic Church.

There are certainly fewer Protestant countries at this point compared to otl, and it seems like one of the major (one of three?) protestant kingdoms has thrown its lot in with Islamic supremacy.

we’ll see how the counter reformation shapes up, if we’ve now fully established that this can’t just be swept under the rug. Out of interest, have we butterflied Ignatius de Loyola? Or is everything on track for the Jesuits to emerge?

Without the Jesuits, given that Hungary, Bohemia and Sweden have gone Protestant, Poland very much might follow suit.

Another question on the religious front- the edict of expulsion of Muslims in Aragon and Valencia only happened in 1526 otl under Charles V- given that he was busy and Spain remained controlled by Ferdinand who was much more similar to their grandfather, did Ferdinand expel the Muslims from Aragon?

They did form an important part of the economy of Valencia, especially given that Muslims from Granada probably joined them after it became illegal in Granada to be Muslim. Without the baggage of being the holy Roman emperor and the secular head of Christendom, Ferdinand might allow Muslims to remain in Valencia and Aragon.

This opens up the possibility of using Muslim administrators in potential future conquests in North Africa- they’d be loyal to Spain given that their families are still in Spain, but would be much more acceptable to North Africans and as fluent Arabic speakers would be much better able to deal with local authorities. Mudejars in this period were also pretty clearly natively hispanophone, and that opens the possibility of Spanish speaking Islamic culture which could spread along with the colonial apparatus into the Maghreb.

There was obviously interest in continuing the reconquista into North Africa otl, as shown by Charles V in Tunis and and Sebastian of Portugals 1570s expedition. Without continental distractions, Spain would surely be more focused on figuring out how to dominate North Africa, and Ferdinand otl showed a level of religious flexibility for political ends which might play out the way I described above here.

Iberian monarchs might therefore be able to prop up the wattasid dynasty in Morocco or the Zayyanids of Tlemcen as vassals intervening in their succession disputes and replacing unruly vassals, and potentially graduate to sending Iberian Muslims to rule as grand vizier/power behind the throne things, in a similar fashion to how the ottomans at first just vassalised the Moldavian principalities and then graduated to imposing rulers on them from the phanariote Greeks of Constantinople.

 

[DrakeRlugia]

There are certainly fewer Protestant countries at this point compared to otl, and it seems like one of the major (one of three?) protestant kingdoms has thrown its lot in with Islamic supremacy.

we’ll see how the counter reformation shapes up, if we’ve now fully established that this can’t just be swept under the rug. Out of interest, have we butterflied Ignatius de Loyola? Or is everything on track for the Jesuits to emerge?

Without the Jesuits, given that Hungary, Bohemia and Sweden have gone Protestant, Poland very much might follow suit.

Another question on the religious front- the edict of expulsion of Muslims in Aragon and Valencia only happened in 1526 otl under Charles V- given that he was busy and Spain remained controlled by Ferdinand who was much more similar to their grandfather, did Ferdinand expel the Muslims from Aragon?

They did form an important part of the economy of Valencia, especially given that Muslims from Granada probably joined them after it became illegal in Granada to be Muslim. Without the baggage of being the holy Roman emperor and the secular head of Christendom, Ferdinand might allow Muslims to remain in Valencia and Aragon.

This opens up the possibility of using Muslim administrators in potential future conquests in North Africa- they’d be loyal to Spain given that their families are still in Spain, but would be much more acceptable to North Africans and as fluent Arabic speakers would be much better able to deal with local authorities. Mudejars in this period were also pretty clearly natively hispanophone, and that opens the possibility of Spanish speaking Islamic culture which could spread along with the colonial apparatus into the Maghreb.

There was obviously interest in continuing the reconquista into North Africa otl, as shown by Charles V in Tunis and and Sebastian of Portugals 1570s expedition. Without continental distractions, Spain would surely be more focused on figuring out how to dominate North Africa, and Ferdinand otl showed a level of religious flexibility for political ends which might play out the way I described above here.

Iberian monarchs might therefore be able to prop up the wattasid dynasty in Morocco or the Zayyanids of Tlemcen as vassals intervening in their succession disputes and replacing unruly vassals, and potentially graduate to sending Iberian Muslims to rule as grand vizier/power behind the throne things, in a similar fashion to how the ottomans at first just vassalised the Moldavian principalities and then graduated to imposing rulers on them from the phanariote Greeks of Constantinople.

I'm not sure if I'd count Hungary as a major Protestant kingdom just yet. The Queen of Hungary had a Protestant give a court sermon: it will likely take more time for more religious reforms to take place in the kingdom. Even so, their reforms are influenced by the reforms happening already in Germany. The first crop of Protestant Reformers, Luther especially, didn't necessary have harsh views on the Turks. Luther first saw them as a scourge of God meant to visit Europe for the sins of the continent, but his views later progressed. He certainly had a lot nicer things to say about the Turks than words he reserved for the Pope and Jewish people, and certainly the Protestant powers of OTL weren't opposed to working with the Muslim powers.

Denmark is more complicated, as Frederick's half measures mean that Christian II has his work ahead of him, but Norway's reform movement only picked up steam in 1536. The main issue will be the twin duchies, where Frederick's son had introduced a Lutheran church order in the 1520s.

Ignatius de Loyola was born in 1491, so he's still around. His conversion was spurred by a wound he received in the 1520s in Navarre. The French did invade the region, and the invasion was a bit more successful IATL and caused a lot more trouble. He could have been wounded, he could have died, he could've escaped unscathed. I've not thought much of it, honestly. There are certainly the other men hanging about who played a role in the foundation of the Jesuits. Even without Loyola, there's likely to be a religious order come about to fill the gaps needed for missionary and educational work as European empires expand outside Europe.

The Reformation in Poland didn't attract a whole lot of popularity in Poland IOTL. The Lutheran movement, at least, was mostly limited to the German towns and burghers, the Poles themselves didn't take much interest in it due to their anti-German stances at the time. Given that we had Poland actually invade Germany in the 1520s here (albeit alongside their Prussian Lutheran vassals, who plundered Catholic churches and monasteries in Brandenburg), I can't imagine Lutheranism gaining that much popularity in Poland. Calvinism, I could see, but Poland likely remains Catholic here: Bohemia, Sweden, and Hungary all went Protestant IOTL, and it really made no difference upon Poland. I don't see why it would make a major difference here.

Certainly, Aragon was different in respect to Castile in that the Muslims in Aragon and Valencia provided cheap labor for the aristocracy. Part of the 1526 expulsion was linked to the troubles of the Revolt of the Germanies / Brotherhoods, in which the rebels saw one way to break the power of the aristocracy by freeing their Muslim vassals through forced baptisms. Given that the revolt in Castile was more troublesome than IOTL and ground to a stalemate versus a royal victory, there's a chance the trouble in Aragon took longer to repress. Even with Ferdinand in charge, there's likely a discussion regarding these baptisms and if they are legal: and if I recall, the question was put before a board of theologians who agreed that the baptisms were legal, which of course sparked further unrest from that segment of the population. There was also the issue Charles V had taken an oath to protect the Muslims, which Clement VII let Charles V break (though it took some convincing). No Clement in this situation, just Pius IV, who would likely have less qualms about breaking such an oath. I think that given the troubles that Spain endured in the 1520s, the emperor's capture and later ransom that the Muslims probably have not been expelled from Aragon or Valencia, and those forcibly converted have perhaps been allowed to lapse back into their previous faith. I could see Ferdinand wanting to table the issue, especially with other issues going on. Given the vast sums of money needed to free Charles V from the French, I could even see Ferdinand extracting fines or payments from the Muslim communities in the Crown of Aragon as a way to raise funds.

Spain is likely to have an interest in North Africa beyond OTL, it's hard to say what adventures they might get into there. Certainly they'll be doing their best to help Muhammad V al-Hasan in Tunis, and will want to combat the growth of Ottoman influence in the Maghreb.

I would love to see an update on the Med, north Africa, Greece, the Knights Hospitaller. Getting the Ionian Islands from Venice, including Corfu, does that increase the Italian influence in the Knights, making them less a French organization? With the English still Catholic, their Langue will not disappear as in OTL in 1570s. The Johannesorder could be a vehicle for cooperation between Protestant and Catholic in Germany as it kinda was in OTL, the Protestant princes still wanted the connection to the crusades/defenders of Christendom and tried to protestant-ize the commanderies in their realms. Did Spain take Djerba and Tunis or does it remain in Barbary hands?
I also think a look at Ireland, Scotland, England and the New World would be interesting, also, how did Iceland make out in the dynastic war over Denmark?
I wouldnt mind being a Knight naval commander if you were so inclined or an Irish petty chief

That's a good question! The French leaned heavily upon the Venetians to make said donation, so I think we're still likely to see plenty of Frenchmen serve in the Knights Hospitaller. But perhaps their position means that more Italians will want to serve too. Yes: the English Langue will stick around, and they'll keep their lands and priories. I definitely agree re: the Teutonic Order. Certainly they've been dealt a loss with Prussia's secularization, but they still have plenty of properties in Germany. With the Burgundian Habsburgs having their focus upon the empire, I could see them down the line taking an interest in the Teutonic Order, it may end up evolving like some of the other knightly orders in a dynastic / royal order (as the Prussian / Brandenburg branch of the order did IOTL).

Spain held Djerba for a period, but the Ottomans hold it presently and Barbarossa uses it as one of his many bases. Spain doesn't hold Tunis, but they have a good relationship with the Hafsid Sultan, who they've provided support too.

Iceland has likely remained on the periphery of the tumult in Denmark, but considering Iceland was dominated by Bishop Ögmundur and Arason IOTL, who worked together to frustrate religious reforms into the 1550s, they'll likely be happy that Christian II's restoration has triumphed: though some might view him with trepidation, given his evolving religious views IOTL. Ögmundur and Arason will likely occupy a position similar to the Archbishop of Nidaros in Norway, though without a common foe, the two Icelandic bishops might not remain friends for long... iirc, they were actually pretty bitter enemies before they had a cause to unite them.

I love the idea of a knight commander or an Irish petty chief though!

 

[DrakeRlugia]

Whew! Sorry for the delay, all. This one stumped me a bit, but I'm happy how it played out. I'm dedicating this chapter to @Prince of Permsia as he gave me some really good ideas for this chapter / Scotland in general that I've implemented here. Enjoy!

Chapter 26. Passions of Scotland
1537-1541; Scotland

Music Accompaniment: Galliarda la Royne d'Escosse

“I must be frank: I know (as you know well) that the King of Scots has strong and perfectly satisfactory erections… when he is amorously involved with a man. In the marriage bed, timidity reigns… the queen does not inspire his passions in that way; he must ready himself away from her presence, but even then, he often has issues maintaining his ardor with her. On the few occasions that the king has been able to stay afloat, he merely introduces his member, remaining there for several minutes without movement. After that, he withdraws, without ejaculating, and bids the queen farewell with a kiss upon her cheek. It is incredible because he can perform in my presence or that of Beau Seton. The king’s doctors do not believe he has impotence, as he has suffered nocturnal pollutions while in his sleep. It is only with the queen that he cannot rise to the act… the queen remains blissfully unaware and believes that their blundering might, at some point, produce a child… I am sorry to say, but we are like to see another immaculate conception with the Virgin Mary herself before the Queen of Scots produces a child if things continue as they are! If only I could attend it—I would see to it myself! I must be frank, sister: it is incomprehensible… the queen does not have the temperament for this, and together they are inept. We must remedy the matter, or the king and queen shall remain childless for the rest of their days.”
— Georges de Boullan, in a letter to his sister, Anne de Boullan

James IV at Prayer, Hours of James IV.​

Alexander IV’s return to Scotland with his new French bride heralded a new era in Scotland. The people praised the queen and cheered as they passed through Scotland—though, at this point, only a select few were aware that the king had not consummated his marriage. From the port of Leith, Alexander IV and his bride came to reside at the Palace of Holyrood, which would become their primary residence with time divided between the other Scottish royal palaces. Alexander and Charlotte’s first trips was an expedition to Linlithgow Palace—one of the dower properties of Queen Margaret, where the queen dowager was formally introduced to her new daughter-in-law properly. “Though Queen Charlotte aspired to gain the favor of the queen dowager, it was not to be…” Marie Pieris, a lady-in-waiting to Queen Charlotte, wrote in a private letter home. “On the day of their arranged meeting, the king and his men went hunting, giving the queen and the dowager time to spend together. The queen dowager left the queen waiting for nearly three full hours; when she did deign to descend from her private chambre, she had only a few curt words to say to the queen before she swept away. Queen Charlotte was left alone with only a few of her ladies… a flood of tears when the king returned from his expedition.”

Queen Margaret had not taken a liking to her new daughter-in-law—and had little desire to do so. Despite Margaret’s difficulties with her home country during the years of her first regency and the tumult with Albany, she remained an English woman at heart. She saw Scotland’s future as better aligned with England and England’s interests—rather than pursuing an alliance with the French, which offered nothing to Scotland and everything to France. Queen Charlotte, representing France and the Auld Alliance, was everything Margaret had wished for Scotland to avoid. “If only the king had wed the Queen of England,” Margaret reportedly lamented to one of her ladies. “Then all would be well. But he has not and did not, so we must deal with this hand.” In this situation, Alexander IV took his wife's side—and ordered that his mother apologize. Margaret was defiant—and chose to return to her primary residence, Methven Castle. “He may be the king, but my son shall not chide me.” Margaret reportedly declared in a pique. She would not figure into the new court that was growing up around Alexander and Charlotte and would instead dedicate herself more and more to the village surrounding Methven and the priory she had founded several years before.

From the beginning, Charlotte took a great interest in the Scottish palaces and their lack of amenities compared to the French Châteaux where she was born and reared. Her focus was on Holyrood and Falklands Palace, which would become Charlotte’s favored residence out of her dower properties. “The queen’s pension which she receives from her father rarely arrives here in its full amount—if it arrives at all,” James Kirkcaldy, Queen Charlotte’s treasurer, wrote in a letter to the Treasurer of Scotland. “As the queen has embarked on a grand refurbishment programme, much of the funds have been earmarked for purchases in France, such as furniture, cloth, and wood—with purchases tending as far afield as Venice, where the queen has purchased glassware. It is sad, but the Scots craftsmen cannot compete with their foreign counterparts…” Though Charlotte gained a reputation as a Frenchwoman who sought to create a petit France in Scotland, she also offered her patronage to Scottish artisans: the first Scottish glassworks owed its birth to Queen Charlotte, with the queen going so far as to entice Venetian glassmakers to settle in Scotland with lavish subsidies and tax exemptions. Other ideas proved less successful, such as Charlotte’s attempt to build up a Scottish silk industry centered around Kilmarnock by importing mulberry cuttings from Italy. Many of the trees failed to thrive owing to Scotland’s climate—those that did were the black mulberries.

Scottish Glassblowers, c. 1540s.​

Not everyone looked upon Charlotte’s innovations fondly. “The court has become the domain of French harlots and perfumed and painted boys,” James Ogilvy, Chief of Clan Ogilvy, wrote scathingly in a letter to his son. “In the days of James IV, men, real men attended the court, and they could hunt, sport and whore… that is all gone with poetry, dances, and soft men who paint their faces and wear silken hose. I fear for any father who would dare send their son into what is now Sodom and Gomorrah. So long as I breathe and this effeminate king reigns, you shall never attend this cesspit that they call court. I would rather our fortunes suffer, and we remain far from this king’s favor than sacrifice one of my sons upon his pulpit of sensuality.” Alexander IV’s court, once known for the riotous entertainments of Scotland’s brightest young nobles, increasingly became seen as the domain of a feminine king: rumors abounded that Alexander IV enjoyed seeing to his wife’s toilette, seeing to her dress, hair, and jewels as if she were his little doll. Alexander IV aggressively promoted cosmetics, perfumes, and French fashions to a court that had seen no genuine innovations since the previous reign. “The king saw himself as the harbinger of culture and refinement to a court and country that previously had lacked it,” a royal archivist would write decades later in his memoirs. “Though the old guard—increasingly affiliated with the king’s mother—grumbled and despaired, complaining of the moral turpitude of the court, not unlike Socrates who despaired of the younger Greeks being overly fond of luxury.” Such complaints centered around the king and his coterie—primarily his dearest companion and friend, George Seton. With the love that the King of Scots showered upon his friends, there remained very little for his queen. “A man such as he cannot sleep soundly in his wife’s bed,” one courtier wrote in a gossipy letter to his mother. “All know that the king prefers a much rougher companion than that.” What need did Alexander have of the Queen of Scots when he had another to warm his bed and to plight his troth?

By 1538, Alexander IV and Charlotte were married for nearly three full years—and their marriage remained on the same ground upon which it had in 1535—unconsummated. Charlotte filled her life with petty vanities; Alexander IV devoted much of his time to George Seton, leaving Charlotte cocooned within a small world primarily occupied by her French ladies-in-waiting. “The queen is devoted to her French ladies—we Scotch ladies are little better than rubbish,” one Scottish lady-in-waiting complained in a letter to her mother. “The queen often rises late in the morning—ensconced with her favorite ladies—young Marie Pieris, Louise de Brézé, and Geneviève de Lascaris… there they chatter away in their pretty little French, oblivious to the world. Only in the early afternoon does the queen dress, and her toilette is laborious… including her ladies, hairdresser, perfumer, jewelers, dressmakers, and the queen’s seamstress. Though the queen does deign to meet with petitioners during this time, her life is devoted wholly to pleasure: a whirl of balls, concerts, masques hosted by the king, as well as private entertainments held within the queen’s chambre privée where she hosts card games and other amusements late into the night... often I am unable to retire until after the sun has risen, and we do it all again…” Lonely and ignored in an entirely foreign court, Charlotte found pleasure in the privileges of her position rather than with her husband.

The goings-on within the Scottish court attracted much attention abroad, and foreign ambassadors posted in Edinburgh sent notes home that often-included tidbits of gossip. “They say that the King of Scots prefers his horse master to his wife,” Queen Mary declared, chittering before all her ladies after receiving a note from Scotland. News sent to France through the French ambassador gave the King of France a headache. “What exactly is going on between those two children?” François reportedly asked, having little clue what he might do to remedy the situation of his daughter’s life in Scotland. As rumors continued to swirl of the continuing childlessness between the Scottish royal couple, François asked that his mistress investigate the situation, hoping Anne de Boullan could get to the bottom of the situation. Luckily for the Duchess of Plaisance, she had an exceedingly warm relationship with the children from the king’s first marriage. While the youngest princesses, Anne and Victoire, looked upon Anne as a surrogate mother figure, Anne’s relationship with Charlotte and Louise was sisterly. Anne had long enjoyed a warm relationship with Charlotte—sustained through letters—that were regularly carried from France to Scotland through an express postal route. “My darling,” Anne wrote in a letter to Charlotte in 1538. “I have heard the news of your troubles in Scotland, and they cause grave concern—both with your father and myself—you must remedy these matters… a queen that remains a virgin remains in dangerous territory, as a marriage is no true marriage unless you consummate it… You know well all that hinges upon your marriage to the King of Scots…”

Marriage of the Virgin, Romanino.​

When Anne’s first letters reached Charlotte, the young Queen of Scots was utterly frank in her letters—pouring forth her troubles to the Duchess of Plaisance. “His Grace is kind to me, but kindness matters little when you see his passion for others…” Anne’s first suggestions were practical—she suggested that Charlotte should widen her circle beyond her French ladies and encouraged the queen to host entertainments that the king would be interested in attending—with Seton in tow. She also urged Charlotte to befriend Seton, viewing him as the key to Alexander. “Where friendship begins, love often follows,” Anne’s advice was kind and helped set things in the right direction. The king began to be present at entertainments held by the queen, and the royal pair discovered that they had similar passions and interests. Though Alexander IV continued to devote most of his time to George Seton, at the very least, Charlotte began to spend time with Alexander—and she got along well enough with the royal favorite. One happy accident of Anne’s advice was a blossoming relationship between the king’s favorite and the queen’s most favored lady, Marie Pieris. In the winter of 1538, George Seton and Marie Pieris married before the court at the royal chapel within the Palace of Holyrood. Alexander IV and Charlotte were generous to their favorites—the queen bestowed a dowry worth £2000 upon Pieris while arranging for the newlyweds to receive a pension of £400 per annum from the king. Alexander IV offered a more fabulous gift, naming his favorite Earl of Winton—named after the ancestral Seton castle, which was the family's seat. Rumors swirled that the new Earl of Winton, well pleased with his elevation into the higher echelons of the Scottish nobility, had deigned to arrange for Alexander IV to deflower his queen after nearly three years of waiting. “As of last night, all that we have hoped for has finally come to fruition…” Charlotte gushed in a letter back home addressed to the duchess. “I am now fully a woman as well as a wife… I pray that we shall be successful, and that Papa shall be a grandpapa before the year is out.”

Throughout the years, Seton’s influence over the king had transformed from personal to political influence. Seton had been admitted to the Privy Council in 1535 and would soon be named Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. “Seton’s influence became persuasive following the king’s return from France,” one council member wrote in his private letters. “He was no mere companion—Seton soon began grasping for whatever influence he might have, greedy for wealth and lands and whatever he might gain from the king. Though Seton often piqued the king, behaving like he was sovereign lord and knew best, the king remained devoted to his best friend…” Aside from the earldom, Alexander IV had lavished wealth upon his favorite, granting him leases upon royal lands and the customs duties on wine imported into Scotland, worth some £2000 per annum. Seton’s influence solidified in 1539 following the death of James Beaton, Archbishop of St. Andrews. The newly minted Earl of Winton supported Patrick Hepburn, a political ally not only for the office of the Archbishopric over Beaton’s nephew, David Beaton, but also for the office of Lord Chancellor. Hepburn’s episcopate would prove detrimental to the Archbishopric of St. Andrews, but Hepburn leased out large portions of his diocese (with various grants to Winton himself) to fund his wasteful and extravagant lifestyle. In terms of policies, Hepburn proved to be no innovator: though he helped usher through parliamentary legislation that protected the authority of the Pope in Scotland, Alexander IV had little taste for bloodletting. “Matters such as these are mere trifles,” Alexander IV reportedly told the archbishop. Patrick Hamilton, Abbot of Fearn Abbey and a reformer who had studied abroad with Martin Luther was tried for heresy and executed in 1528. Still, there were no large-scale persecutions throughout the 1530s and 1540s—most cases were limited to friars, minor priests, and others who belonged to lowly occupations.

Despite the changes that Charlotte had implemented within her life, little had changed: though the Earl of Winton now arranged and encouraged Alexander to bed his queen on an irregular basis, the royal couple remained childless. “The king visits me each evening,” Charlotte wrote dejectedly in a letter to Anne. “He kisses me on the cheek, bids me goodnight, and then withdraws. When the king does stay with me, it is only every few weeks, and for a matter of minutes… and he only visits me when my courses are due.” Anne was greatly disappointed that her advice had not improved matters, but she saw clearly that one obstacle prevented the royal couple from having a child. “That dreaded earl is the cause of all of this dysfunction,” Anne wrote to King François—the script of the letter bold and furious. “If we wish for the King and Queen of Scots to have an heir ere long, then the king’s interest must be directed elsewhere. Everything hinges upon this: the Auld Alliance and the future of the House of Stewart. No marriage between the Houses of Stewart and Valois has ever produced progeny… this marriage cannot end the same way.” For Anne, only one man could help in this delicate situation: her brother, Georges de Boullan, the Duke of Valentinois.

Sketch of Georges de Boullan, Duke of Valentinois; c. 1536.​

Just as Anne’s star had risen at court, so had Georges. Bold and saucy, Georges was a consummate courtier who knew how to keep King François happy and make him laugh. Georges enjoyed a close relationship with King François—François enjoyed having a friend whose sexual appetites were as large as his own. Georges was pampered and coddled by François—with the King of France happy to give his favorite’s brother gifts of cash, land, and jewelry—even as he scolded him for his love of luxury and constant debts. Georges’ marriage to Louise Borgia in 1534—followed by his attainment of the Duchy of Valentinois in 1539- showed his climbed heights. “Matters have not progressed to the matter in which I have hoped,” Anne wrote in a letter to her brother. “I know that the King of Scots is fond of you—and so I wish you to go to Scotland and get to the bottom of these troubles between the king and queen. Remedy these issues, dearest brother—as you are the only one able.” The Duke of Valentinois set out for Scotland in the spring of 1540 in grand state—his suite numbered some thirty people, and courtiers rumored that the cost of the furnishings and cloths which he intended to take to Scotland was worth some £5000—including a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa as a gift to the Scottish royal family from King François himself. The Duke of Valentinois made a brief stopover in England, where Queen Mary received the strutting duke at the English court. “More French than English—and overly bold,” one courtier wrote of Valentinois’ visit, where the duke passed on good tidings to Queen Mary from King François following the recent birth of her eldest son, Henry. Georges was also able to visit Hever Castle—which was now his following the death of both of his parents in 1539. Georges arranged for some of the Boullan family valuables to be shipped to France, while much would be sold primarily to cover Georges’ debts incurred during his short stay in England. He would sell Hever Castle for some £1200 to the Throckmorton family in 1542.

The Duke of Valentinois finally arrived in Scotland through the port of Leith in July of 1540. “We treated the duke's arrival as a courtly celebration…” one courtier wrote in his journal. “We were all present as he disembarked, followed by his servants, retinue, and the wealth of furnishings and gifts he had brought. He met almost immediately with the king, who embraced him as an old friend, and the queen, who looked to the duke to serve as a balm in her troubled marriage. Only the Earl of Winton seemed out of sorts by Valentinois’ arrival. Oh yes, he bowed and offered courtesies to his old friend, if we can believe rumors of their coupling on the night of the king’s marriage to the queen… but in private, the earl railed and rowed against the king, and they quarreled violently on the night of the duke’s arrival.” The Earl of Winton had not forgotten the rumors that had swirled around Alexander IV and the Duke of Valentinois during their vacation in France and was unhappy to see a reminder of that time. Winton had little clue that Valentinois had come at the instigation of the French court—and feared that Alexander IV himself had invited him.

Though the Scottish court celebrated the arrival of Valentinois with revels and feasts, the duke spent his earliest days following his arrival in Scotland meeting privately with Queen Charlotte. They took brisk walks around the privy garden. They also spent hours closeted within the queen’s privy chambers, where Charlotte poured forth the troubles of the state of her marriage—with the Duke of Valentinois learning what happened precisely during the royal couplings. “Things are more troubled than we thought,” Georges wrote to Anne. “But do not worry—for I intend to fix it.” Valentinois would meet with Charlotte on several different occasions throughout his stay in Scotland and privately with the king. He served as a counselor and tutor for the royal couple and sought to bridge the gap between the pair, as well as to remedy the issue of their sexual incompatibility. “The root of the issue is that the king has no interest in women…” Valentinois noted in another letter sent back to his sister in France.

Portrait of the Earl of Winton, c. 1540.​

Valentinois stayed in Scotland throughout 1540—with his return to France planned in the spring of 1541. Little surprise that his sojourn in Scotland had sent tongues wagging and set the rumor mill of Scotland aflame. Some whispered that Valentinois had been invited to Scotland by Alexander IV himself to give the Earl of Winton a bloody nose—with many believing that the relationship between the king and his favorite was entering its last stages. Others saw French shadows in Valentinois—with murmurs that the king was planning to set Charlotte aside due to her sterility and that the annulment decree would arrive from Rome in months. In continued meetings with Queen Charlotte, the Duke of Valentinois clarified that such rumors were dangerous to her position. “The king is fond of you, as you have said, but he does not love you… and therein lies the problem.” Valentinois counseled the queen in one of their meetings. “The king will never love you as passionately as he does the earl—he will love you in another way when you have children together.” Charlotte could only despair: “Then he shall never love me—for he shall never be parted from Winton.” Valentinois thought otherwise—to him, the path forward was apparent. The Earl of Winton must be dealt with—and replaced with someone more interested in upholding Charlotte’s interests. She needed someone who would be her ally and her servant—and that was not the Earl of Winton. Winton had selected Charlotte and would always feel the queen should be indebted to him, not vice versa. Valentinois promised to intercede with the king during his stay—the Duke of Valentinois rekindled his relationship with Alexander IV during his stay in Scotland—but cautioned that a genuine replacement would need to be found.

“Matters have been successful,” Valentinois wrote in a note to his sister shortly after the new year in 1541—with Charlotte discovered that she was pregnant. When the pregnancy became public news, it only fueled further rumors: some suggested Valentinois had instructed the royal couple in matters in the bedroom and had gone so far as to be present in the royal bedchambers during their assignations. Others believed that perhaps Valentinois had been recruited by Alexander IV to create the heir that he so desperately needed. This vile rumor was especially bandied about—and helped contribute to further issues between Alexander IV and his mother, with Margaret repeating the rumor far and wide. “The King of Scots wears cuckold's horns,” Margaret announced to all who would listen. “The queen’s bastard will be colored like the Boullans, I am sure.” Alexander retaliated against his mother by withdrawing further lands from her dower, banning her from the court, and halving her pension until she apologized.

In the matter of finding a new lover for the king, Valentinois and Charlotte found a potential match right under their nose: Angelo Acciaioli, a young Florentine nobleman who had come in the suite of Charlotte to Scotland and served as one of her numerous valets de chambre. “Acciaioli was in his nineteen or twenty, having arrived in Scotland as a young man as part of the queen’s suite,” one courtier recorded in their memoirs. “Sweet and quiet, he was nothing like the Earl of Winton—with jet black hair and piercing green eyes.” Valentinois encouraged the queen to toss Acciaioli before the king as a new potential mate—an idea also supported by those who felt piqued by the rise of Winton and his domineering behavior over the king and court. The discord between Charlotte and the king’s favorite had grown—it was no longer a matter of personal differences. Still, it was rapidly turning into a political affair as well: those who felt that Winton’s political power had grown too much turned to the queen as a counter anchor and hoped that she might succeed in supplanting George Seton and replacing those who supported him.

Valentinois returned to France without issue in April 1541. Charlotte would give birth in June of 1541: she gave birth not to the long-awaited son but to a daughter named Anne, after Charlotte’s grandmother. Though the birth was disappointing in some quarters, Alexander IV seemed especially pleased and ordered the princess christened in the royal chapel with all the pomp expected as if she had been born a prince. “The Earl of Winton grinned ear to ear when he heard that the queen had given birth to a daughter,” one courtier wrote in a letter to his wife. “But Winton's smile faded when he learned that the king had patted the queen’s hand and declared before all the court that there would be no need to fret because a son would soon follow.” When Charlotte learned of the favorite’s dreaded behavior following the birth of her daughter, she knew that she must act, and soon, Winton needed to go—and Acciaioli needed to replace him.

 

[eliamartin65]

I love this naughty look into Scotland.

 

[FalconHonour]

Oh, what fun this chapter was! I adored the various scandals and schemes that were going on at Holyrood. Thank you for sharing!

 

[mickeymouse]

Yay, you’re back! Alexander's court sounds so interesting.. I love all the intrigue going on! This was a wonderful look into Scotland, and I can’t wait to see where things go. ^-^

 

[Gonzaga]

HBO should make a series based on this Scottish court. I'd pay to watch it!

 

[Prince of Permsia]

Thanks for the shout-out. This was a great chapter.

 

[King of Danes]

I goddamn love it when we go to Scotland for the updates! It's such a hot mess hahaha - This chapter is giving Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, James VI and Buckingham, Enrique IV of Spain and Caroline Mathilde and Struensee, and I love it!

From the beginning, Charlotte took a great interest in the Scottish palaces and their lack of amenities compared to the French Châteaux where she was born and reared. Her focus was on Holyrood and Falklands Palace, which would become Charlotte’s favored residence out of her dower properties. “The queen’s pension which she receives from her father rarely arrives here in its full amount—if it arrives at all,” James Kirkcaldy, Queen Charlotte’s treasurer, wrote in a letter to the Treasurer of Scotland. “As the queen has embarked on a grand refurbishment programme, much of the funds have been earmarked for purchases in France, such as furniture, cloth, and wood—with purchases tending as far afield as Venice, where the queen has purchased glassware. It is sad, but the Scots craftsmen cannot compete with their foreign counterparts…” Though Charlotte gained a reputation as a Frenchwoman who sought to create a petit France in Scotland, she also offered her patronage to Scottish artisans: the first Scottish glassworks owed its birth to Queen Charlotte, with the queen going so far as to entice Venetian glassmakers to settle in Scotland with lavish subsidies and tax exemptions. Other ideas proved less successful, such as Charlotte’s attempt to build up a Scottish silk industry centered around Kilmarnock by importing mulberry cuttings from Italy. Many of the trees failed to thrive owing to Scotland’s climate—those that did were the black mulberries.

Say what you want, but Alexander and Charlotte have really made some economical, industrial and infrastructure improvements in Scotland. Their court might be flighty and debauched but their innovations could really see some manufacturing and proto-industrial revolutions occur if continued and nudged correctly

Despite the changes that Charlotte had implemented within her life, little had changed: though the Earl of Winton now arranged and encouraged Alexander to bed his queen on an irregular basis, the royal couple remained childless. “The king visits me each evening,” Charlotte wrote dejectedly in a letter to Anne. “He kisses me on the cheek, bids me goodnight, and then withdraws. When the king does stay with me, it is only every few weeks, and for a matter of minutes… and he only visits me when my courses are due.” Anne was greatly disappointed that her advice had not improved matters, but she saw clearly that one obstacle prevented the royal couple from having a child. “That dreaded earl is the cause of all of this dysfunction,” Anne wrote to King François—the script of the letter bold and furious. “If we wish for the King and Queen of Scots to have an heir ere long, then the king’s interest must be directed elsewhere. Everything hinges upon this: the Auld Alliance and the future of the House of Stewart. No marriage between the Houses of Stewart and Valois has ever produced progeny… this marriage cannot end the same way.” For Anne, only one man could help in this delicate situation: her brother, Georges de Boullan, the Duke of Valentinois.

Oh damn, the boytoys are reuniting. This will be good. Also, poor Charlotte is as clueless as Anne of Cleves otl

Just as Anne’s star had risen at court, so had Georges. Bold and saucy, Georges was a consummate courtier who knew how to keep King François happy and make him laugh. Georges enjoyed a close relationship with King François—François enjoyed having a friend whose sexual appetites were as large as his own. Georges was pampered and coddled by François—with the King of France happy to give his favorite’s brother gifts of cash, land, and jewelry—even as he scolded him for his love of luxury and constant debts. Georges’ marriage to Louise Borgia in 1534—followed by his attainment of the Duchy of Valentinois in 1539- showed his climbed heights. “Matters have not progressed to the matter in which I have hoped,” Anne wrote in a letter to her brother. “I know that the King of Scots is fond of you—and so I wish you to go to Scotland and get to the bottom of these troubles between the king and queen. Remedy these issues, dearest brother—as you are the only one able.” The Duke of Valentinois set out for Scotland in the spring of 1540 in grand state—his suite numbered some thirty people, and courtiers rumored that the cost of the furnishings and cloths which he intended to take to Scotland was worth some £5000—including a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa as a gift to the Scottish royal family from King François himself. The Duke of Valentinois made a brief stopover in England, where Queen Mary received the strutting duke at the English court. “More French than English—and overly bold,” one courtier wrote of Valentinois’ visit, where the duke passed on good tidings to Queen Mary from King François following the recent birth of her eldest son, Henry. Georges was also able to visit Hever Castle—which was now his following the death of both of his parents in 1539. Georges arranged for some of the Boullan family valuables to be shipped to France, while much would be sold primarily to cover Georges’ debts incurred during his short stay in England. He would sell Hever Castle for some £1200 to the Throckmorton family in 1542.

And thus the last lingering parts of the Boleyns englishness have been sold and moved to France. They are truly a French family now

Queen Margaret had not taken a liking to her new daughter-in-law—and had little desire to do so. Despite Margaret’s difficulties with her home country during the years of her first regency and the tumult with Albany, she remained an English woman at heart. She saw Scotland’s future as better aligned with England and England’s interests—rather than pursuing an alliance with the French, which offered nothing to Scotland and everything to France. Queen Charlotte, representing France and the Auld Alliance, was everything Margaret had wished for Scotland to avoid. “If only the king had wed the Queen of England,” Margaret reportedly lamented to one of her ladies. “Then all would be well. But he has not and did not, so we must deal with this hand.” In this situation, Alexander IV took his wife's side—and ordered that his mother apologize. Margaret was defiant—and chose to return to her primary residence, Methven Castle. “He may be the king, but my son shall not chide me.” Margaret reportedly declared in a pique. She would not figure into the new court that was growing up around Alexander and Charlotte and would instead dedicate herself more and more to the village surrounding Methven and the priory she had founded several years before.

“Matters have been successful,” Valentinois wrote in a note to his sister shortly after the new year in 1541—with Charlotte discovered that she was pregnant. When the pregnancy became public news, it only fueled further rumors: some suggested Valentinois had instructed the royal couple in matters in the bedroom and had gone so far as to be present in the royal bedchambers during their assignations. Others believed that perhaps Valentinois had been recruited by Alexander IV to create the heir that he so desperately needed. This vile rumor was especially bandied about—and helped contribute to further issues between Alexander IV and his mother, with Margaret repeating the rumor far and wide. “The King of Scots wears cuckold's horns,” Margaret announced to all who would listen. “The queen’s bastard will be colored like the Boullans, I am sure.” Alexander retaliated against his mother by withdrawing further lands from her dower, banning her from the court, and halving her pension until she apologized.

Margaret being Margaret will always cause headaches for those around her, and I lowkey live for it. Hopefully her big mouth won't come back to haunt Scotland

Valentinois returned to France without issue in April 1541. Charlotte would give birth in June of 1541: she gave birth not to the long-awaited son but to a daughter named Anne, after Charlotte’s grandmother. Though the birth was disappointing in some quarters, Alexander IV seemed especially pleased and ordered the princess christened in the royal chapel with all the pomp expected as if she had been born a prince. “The Earl of Winton grinned ear to ear when he heard that the queen had given birth to a daughter,” one courtier wrote in a letter to his wife. “But Winton's smile faded when he learned that the king had patted the queen’s hand and declared before all the court that there would be no need to fret because a son would soon follow.” When Charlotte learned of the favorite’s dreaded behavior following the birth of her daughter, she knew that she must act, and soon, Winton needed to go—and Acciaioli needed to replace him.

Welcome little princess Anne! Hopefully some brothers will follow. Gods know that Scotland needs a more stable line. Also, Winton needs to go, and I have a feeling that it'll happen soon

Great chapter!