Marguerite of Navarre Renaissance Woman

Queen Marguerite of Navarre (April 11, 1491 - December 21, 1549)  was known for  helping negotiate the Treaty of Cambrai, known as The Ladies Peace. She was a Renaissance humanist, and educated her daughter, Jeanne dAlbret, according to Renaissance standards. She was the grandmother of King Henry IV of France. She was also known as  Marguerite of Angoulà ªme, Margaret of Navarre, Margaret of Angouleme, Marguerite De Navarre, Margarita De Angulema, Margarita De Navarra. Fast Facts: Marguerite of Navarre Known For: Princess  of  France,  Queen  of  Navarre, and Duchess of  Alenà §on  and  Berry; helping negotiate the  Treaty of Cambrai,  (Paix des Dames); and esteemed Renaissance writer.Born: April 11, 1491Died: December 21, 1549Spouse(s): Charles IV, Duke of Alenà §on, Henry II of NavarreChildren: Jeanne III of Navarre, JeanPublished Works:  The  Heptameron, Miroir de là ¢me pà ©cheresse  (Mirror of the Sinful Soul) Early Years Marguerite of Navarre was the daughter of  Louise of Savoy  and Charles de Valois-Orlà ©ans, Comte dAngoulà ªme. She was well educated in languages (including Latin), philosophy, history, and theology, taught by her mother and by tutors. Marguerites father proposed when she was 10 that she marry the Prince of Wales, who later became Henry VIII. Personal and Family Life Marguerite of Navarre married the Duke of Alencon in 1509 when she was 17 years old and he was 20. He was far less educated than she, described by one contemporary as a laggard and a dolt, but the marriage was advantageous to her brother, the presumed heir to the crown of France. When her brother, Francis I, succeeded Louis XII, Marguerite served as his hostess. Marguerite patronized scholars and explored religious reform. In 1524, Claude, the queen consort of Francis I, died, leaving two young daughters, Madeleine and Margaret, to the care of Marguerite. Marguerite raised them until Francis married Eleanor of Austria in 1530. Madeleine, born in 1520, later married James V of Scotland and died at age 16 of tuberculosis; Margaret, born in 1523, later married Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, with whom she had a son. The Duke was injured in the Battle of Pavia, 1525, in which Marguerites brother, Francis I, was captured. With Francis held captive in Spain, Marguerite stepped up and helped her mother, Louise of Savoy, negotiate the release of Francis and the Treaty of Cambrai, known as The Ladies Peace (Paix des Dames). Part of the stipulation of this treaty was that Francis marry Eleanor of Austria, which he did in 1530. Marguerites husband, the Duke, died of his battle injuries after Francis was captured. Marguerite had no children by her marriage to the Duke of Alencon. In 1527, Marguerite married Henry dAlbret, King of Navarre, ten years younger than she. Under her influence, Henry initiated legal and economic reforms, and the court became a haven for religious reformers. They had one daughter, Jeanne dAlbret, and a son who died as an infant. While Marguerite retained influence at her brothers court, she and her husband were soon estranged, or perhaps never were all that close. Her salon, known as The New Parnassas, gathered influential scholars and others. Marguerite of Navarre  took charge of the education of her daughter,  Jeanne dAlbret, who became a  Huguenot  leader and whose son became Frances King Henry IV. Marguerite did not go so far as to become a  Calvinist and was estranged from her daughter Jeanne over religion. Yet Francis came to oppose many of the reformers with whom Marguerite was in contact, and that led to some estrangement between Marguerite and Francis. Writing Career Marguerite of Navarre wrote religious verse and short stories. Her verse reflected her religious non-orthodoxy, as she was influenced by humanists and tended towards mysticism. She published her first poem, Miroir de là ¢me pà ©cheresse, after her sons death in 1530. Englands Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth I of England) translated Marguerites Miroir de là ¢me pà ©cheresse (1531) as A Godly Meditation of the Soul (1548). Marguerite published Les Marguerites de la Marguerite des princesses tresillustre royne de Navarre and Suyte des Marguerites de la Marguerite des princesses tresillustre royne de Navarre in 1548 after Francis died Legacy Marguerite of Navarre died at age 57 in Odos. Marguerites collection of 72 stories — many of women — was published after her death under the title LHemptameron des Nouvelles, also called The Heptameron. Though it is not certain, it is speculated that Marguerite had some influence on Anne Boleyn when Anne was in France as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Claude, Marguerites sister-in-law. The bulk of Marguerites verse was not collected and published until 1896 when it was published as Les Dernià ¨res poà ©sies.