DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.63221#0054
28
THE FRENCH RENAISSANCE
time intrigue was a science, and to govern a Kingdom by
intrigue was part of a Queen’s education. Catherine was
no exception. She was only one of a dynasty : the dynasty
of Renaissance Stateswomen.
II
Political women were, in fact, becoming daily more pro-
minent. They were by no means an unmitigated blessing,
and the sharp-tongued amongst them were known as “les
Marquises de Malebouche.” One of these went so far as to
try and interfere at the Etats de Blois (the parliamentary
council) and was reproved for her daring by King Louis XII.
But she was at no loss for a retort. “In the times,” she
said, “when lords and princes went to the Crusades and
achieved great feats, there was nothing for us poor women
to do but to pray and watch, and fast and make vows, so
that God might give them a prosperous voyage and a safe
return. But now-a-days, when we see that they accomplish
no more than we do, it is quite right for us to talk about
everything. For why on earth should we pray God for them,
considering they are no better than ourselves?”
The first eminent political woman, in the modern sense
of the word, was Anne de Beaujeu, a person of masterful
vitality, the favourite daughter and confidant of Louis XI
and the guardian of her brother, Charles VIII. She arranged
her ward’s state business, married him to Anne de Bretagne,
restrained his extravagant desires for Italian Empire and,
by her French policy of good sense, assured prosperity in
his kingdom. Had he in later years yielded to her opposi-
THE FRENCH RENAISSANCE
time intrigue was a science, and to govern a Kingdom by
intrigue was part of a Queen’s education. Catherine was
no exception. She was only one of a dynasty : the dynasty
of Renaissance Stateswomen.
II
Political women were, in fact, becoming daily more pro-
minent. They were by no means an unmitigated blessing,
and the sharp-tongued amongst them were known as “les
Marquises de Malebouche.” One of these went so far as to
try and interfere at the Etats de Blois (the parliamentary
council) and was reproved for her daring by King Louis XII.
But she was at no loss for a retort. “In the times,” she
said, “when lords and princes went to the Crusades and
achieved great feats, there was nothing for us poor women
to do but to pray and watch, and fast and make vows, so
that God might give them a prosperous voyage and a safe
return. But now-a-days, when we see that they accomplish
no more than we do, it is quite right for us to talk about
everything. For why on earth should we pray God for them,
considering they are no better than ourselves?”
The first eminent political woman, in the modern sense
of the word, was Anne de Beaujeu, a person of masterful
vitality, the favourite daughter and confidant of Louis XI
and the guardian of her brother, Charles VIII. She arranged
her ward’s state business, married him to Anne de Bretagne,
restrained his extravagant desires for Italian Empire and,
by her French policy of good sense, assured prosperity in
his kingdom. Had he in later years yielded to her opposi-