Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France

See also Margaret Stewart.

Margaret of Scotland
Dauphine of Viennois
File:Margaritaescocia.jpg
Born	1424 Perth
Died	16 August 1445 Châlons-sur-Marne, France
Burial	Saint-Laon church, Thouars, France
Spouse	Louis XI of France
House	House of Stewart
Father	James I of Scotland
Mother	Joan Beaufort

Margaret of Scotland (French: Marguerite d'Écosse) (25 December 1424 – 16 August 1445) was a Princess of Scotland and the Dauphine of France. She was the firstborn child of King James I of Scotland and Queen Joan Beaufort.

She married the eldest son of the king of France, Louis, Dauphin Of France, at eleven years old. Their marriage was unhappy, and she died childless at age 20, apparently of a fever.

Early life

She was born in Perth, Scotland to James I of Scotland and Joan Beaufort, a cousin of Henry VI of England. Margaret was the first of six daughters and twin sons born to her parents (her surviving brother, James, would become James II of Scotland at six years old).

Marriage

Margaret was Charles VII of France's diplomatic choice for daughter-in-law. The marriage was forced upon Charles's thirteen-year-old son, Louis, which did not help their relationship. However, royal marriages in the 15th century were always political. There are no direct accounts from Louis or Margaret of their first impressions of each other, and it is mere speculation to say whether or not they actually had negative feelings for each other. Several historians think that Louis had a predetermined attitude to hate his wife. But it is universally agreed that Louis entered the ceremony and the marriage itself dutifully, as evidenced by his formal embrace of Margaret upon their first meeting on 24 June 1436, the day before their wedding.

Margaret and Louis' marriage shows both the nature of medieval royal diplomacy and the precarious position of the French monarchy. The marriage took place 25 June 1436 in the afternoon in the chapel of the castle of Tours and was presided by the Archbishop of Reims. By the standards of the time, it was a very plain wedding. Louis, thirteen, looked clearly more mature than his bride, eleven. Margaret looked like a beautiful “doll,” perhaps because she was treated as such by her in-laws. Charles wore “grey riding pants” and “did not even bother to remove his spurs.” The Scottish guests were quickly hustled out after the wedding reception. This was seen as something of a scandal by the Scots. King Charles’ attire and the speed with which the guests were hustled out was considered an insult to Scotland, which was an important ally in France's war with the English. However, this spoke to the impoverished nature of the French court at this time. They simply could not afford an extravagant ceremony or to host their Scottish guests for any longer than they did.

Following the ceremony, “doctors advised against consummation” because of the relative immaturity of the bride and bridegroom. Margaret continued her studies and Louis went on tour with Charles to loyal areas of the kingdom. Even at this time, Charles was taken aback by the intelligence and temper of his son. During this tour, Louis was named Dauphin by Charles, as is traditional for the eldest son of the king.

Margaret was considered lovely, gracious and very beautiful, with a certain ability to write poesy and rhymes, though no example of her compositions survived destruction at her husband's hands after her death. She was also very interested in the French court's social and gallant life. She was a favourite of her father-in-law Charles VII of France and popular among the courtiers. However, she felt herself alien amongst the French court and became depressed.

She had a strained relationship with her husband, the future king of France, mainly because of Louis' hatred of his father. Charles VII ordered the marriage, and Margaret frequently supported the king against her husband. It is said that she wore a strongly-tied corset because of her fear of pregnancies, ate green apples and drank apple vinegar. Her unhappy marriage furthered her depression, as did the gossip regarding her by supporters of Louis.

Death

File:Thouars - Eglise St Laon int 06.jpg

Tomb of Margaret Stewart in the Saint-Laon church

On 16 August 1445, between ten and eleven at night, she died in Châlons-sur-Marne, Marne, France at the age of 20. On Saturday, 7 August, she and her ladies had joined the court on a short pilgrimage. It was very hot, and when she returned, she undressed in her stone chamber. The next morning she was feverish, the doctor diagnosed the inflammation of the lungs. She died, raving against a Jamet de Tillay, a Breton soldier, in favour of her father-in-law, King Charles (Jamet surprised Margaret at her habitual poetry reading, when there were no candles, only a good fire in the mantelpiece; he stuck a candle into her face, sniggered and afterwards went around, talking about "wanton princesses". Louis was cold to Margaret, and she attributed his coldness to the gossip spread by Jamet. She died, protesting her faithfulness to her husband, and accused Jamet of killing her with his words). ¹ Melancholic and distressed by slander against her, she sank into a final languor before dying. Her last words, in response to others' urgings to rouse herself and live, were supposedly Fi de la vie! qu'on ne m'en parle plus ("Fie on life! Speak no more of it to me").

She was buried in the Saint-Laon church in Thouars, in the Deux-Sèvres department of France.

Five and a half years after her death, her husband married Charlotte of Savoy, by whom he had three surviving children: Charles VIII of France, and two daughters, Anne of France and Jeanne.

Margaret is also famous for the legend that she was kissed or almost kissed by poet Alain Chartier while asleep in her own rooms (another variant of this legend has Anne of Brittany as its protagonist), though her age and location at the time of Chartier's death would have made that impossible.

Ancestry

Family of Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France

16. Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland               8. Robert II of Scotland                       17. Marjorie Bruce               4. Robert III of Scotland                             18. Sir Adam Mure of Rowallan or Rawalla               9. Elizabeth Mure                       19. Joan Cunningham or Janet Mure of Ponkelly or Pokellie               2. James I of Scotland                                   20. Sir Malcolm Drummond, 10th of Lennox               10. Sir John Drummond, 11th of Lennox                       21. Margaret de Graham               5. Anabella Drummond                             22. Sir William de Montifex               11. Mary Montifex                       1. Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France                                         24. Edward III of England               12. John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster                       25. Philippa of Hainault               6. John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset                             26. Paen de Roet               13. Katherine Roet                       3. Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots                                   28. Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent               14. Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent                       29. Joan of Kent               7. Margaret Holland                             30. Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel               15. Alice FitzAlan                       31. Eleanor of Lancaster

Sources

• Ruth Putnam, Charles the Bold
• Kendall, P.M. Louis XI: The Universal Spider, London, 2001, pp. 66, 393-395