Two Margarets

Magazine Antiques, Sept, 2005 by Miriam Kramer

The stories of two women named Margaret who lived in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries are intertwined. Margaret of Burgundy, more commonly known as Margaret of York, was born in England in 1446. She was the daughter of Richard Plantagenet, third duke of York, and the sister of the English kings Edward IV and Richard III. In 1468 she married Charles the Bold of Burgundy at Bruges, and although they had no children she was an important guardian of his offspring from earlier marriages and the heir to his lands. She died in Bruges in 1503.

Margaret of Austria, born in 1480, was the step-grand-daughter of Margaret of Burgundy. Her parents were Charles the Bold's daughter Mary, duchess of Burgundy, and Maximilian von Habsburg, the future Maximilian I, Holy Roman emperor. In 1483 Margaret of Austria was betrothed to the dauphin, later Charles VIII of France, but they never married. Instead she became the wife of the Infante John, heir to the Spanish throne, in 1497, the year he died. She then married Philibert II, duke of Savoy, who died in 1504, three years after their marriage.

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The two Margarets were figures of power and influence in the Low Countries. A center of the territories in the period was Mechelen, near Antwerp. After the death of her husband, Charles, in 1477 and stepdaughter Mary in 1482, Margaret of York became guardian and regent to her step-grandchildren. The domains under her control included territories in both Burgundy and the Netherlands. Later Margaret of Austria also ruled the territory as a regent (1507-1515 and 1519-1530) for her nephew Charles (later Charles V, Holy Roman emperor).

Both women were supporters of the arts as well as skilled politicians. Margaret of York was a patron of William Caxton and supported his English translation of The Recuyell of the Historeys of Troye. This was the first book printed in English and was issued at Bruges about 1475. One of the surviving copies (at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California) includes an engraving showing Caxton presenting a copy of the book to Margaret. She also commissioned many manuscripts. The court of Margaret of Austria attracted intellectuals such as Albrecht Durer and Desiderius Erasmus.

An exhibition entitled Women of Distinction: Margaret of York and Margaret of Austria is on view at the heritage center Lamot in Mechelen, Belgium, from September 17 until December 18. The curator is Joris Capenberghs, and the illustrated catalogue may be ordered by telephoning 32-15-29-4900. An international colloquium about women at the court of Burgundy will take place in Mechelen from November 25 to 27. Further information may be obtained by e-mail (wim.husken@mechelen.be).

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