The Power and Patronage of Marguerite de Navarre by Barbara Stephenson

Author:Barbara Stephenson [Stephenson, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, General
ISBN: 9781351883641
Google: LTUrDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2017-07-05T04:57:39+00:00

CHAPTER FOUR

"Non comme soeur": The patronage relationship of Marguerite and François I

"Pour ce que je connois le président Clutin estre de ceux que vous tenez de vos très humbles et affecsionnés léaux serviteurs, [because I know president Clutin is one of those whom you hold as your most humble and affectionate loyal serviteurs]," Marguerite wrote to the king, she recommended "son filz, qui en bon sens et bonne voulenté est suivant le père, et aultant estimé savant jeune homme, de bonne confiance et de bonnes lettres [his son, who in good sense and good will follows the father and is esteemed as a clever young man, of good trust and good learning]," refening to the "natural affection" that "their house" had for serving the king.1 In this patronage letter regarding a young man seeking a position, we see a classic example of Marguerite's patronage relationship with François I. Unfortunately, almost all of François' letters to his sister have been lost, and the outcome of many of the requests made to him by her, including what happened with Clutin's son, are unknown. But Marguerite's letters to the king supply a wealth of information about the relationship between the king and his sister, which encompassed not only a familial relationship but also a political one.

Marguerite was an active patron, broker, and client in early-sixteenth century French society, in which the most important and powerful patron and broker was her only sibling, King François I. The political position granted to Marguerite by her brother, and the ramifications of that position, have already been discussed, as has Marguerite's use of her position as the basis for operating as a powerful patron and broker.2 This chapter will examine the patronage relationship between Marguerite and her brother, which, like all aspects of their relationship, operated on several levels and fluctuated over time. The traditional understanding of Marguerite and her relationship with François is that the siblings' adult relationship was a continuance of the close threesome they shared with their mother, Louise de Savoie. According to this view, Marguerite was raised to adore and serve her brother and throughout her life, she remained subservient and devoted to the king. As one scholar put it,

[f]ar from being jealous of her younger brother, [Marguerite] patterned herself on her mother and offered him adulation and lifelong service. Although they referred to themselves as the trinity, co-equal they were not. Marguerite, the most talented of the three, enjoyed an influence that was fitful, and stood always on the lower step that rank and age dictated, subservient to both her brother and her mother.3

A more detailed example of this view can be seen in Leah Middlebrook's article, "'Tout mon office'."4 In this article, Middlebrook claimed that the verse epttres written by Marguerite and François "are most important for the insight they provide into the role of the princess in the complex negotiation of gender and power that was necessary when women sought powers of rule."5 Middlebrook noted Marguerite's importance to the study

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