1 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:07,240 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. Jean Dalbray, Queen of Navarre, was born on 2 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:11,440 Speaker 1: November sixteenth, fifteen twenty eight, so four hundred ninety six 3 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: years ago today. She is one of three women we 4 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:18,239 Speaker 1: talk about in Today's Saturday Classic, which is on three 5 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:22,959 Speaker 1: women of the Protestant Reformation. This episode originally came out 6 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:30,000 Speaker 1: on November one, twenty seventeen. Enjoy Welcome to Stuff You 7 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello, and 8 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:43,400 Speaker 1: welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy D. Wilson and I'm 9 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:47,959 Speaker 1: Holly Frye. As you may know, this podcast is initially 10 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:51,239 Speaker 1: being published on November first, twenty seventeen, so that's the 11 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: day after the five hundredth anniversary of Martin Luther famously 12 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: posting his ninety five THECS, which is more formally known 13 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: as Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences at 14 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:08,039 Speaker 1: the door of Wittenberg Castle Church. So there's some historical 15 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:11,760 Speaker 1: debate over the details of this. Martin Luther probably didn't 16 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:15,840 Speaker 1: defiantly nail them up there as a lot of people imagine, 17 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 1: and it might not have even happened at all, although 18 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: these cecees were basically points he planned to discuss at 19 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: a public disputation, so it would have been customary for 20 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: him to post them there ahead of time. Regardless of 21 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: all that detail, though, October thirty first, fifteen seventeen has 22 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:35,280 Speaker 1: come to be marked as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, 23 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,440 Speaker 1: which was the religious and social and political schism that 24 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:43,839 Speaker 1: ultimately led to centuries of war and upheaval and religious 25 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: persecution and the Catholic counter Reformation and the rise of 26 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:53,720 Speaker 1: seemingly countless Protestant denominations of Christianity. So obviously that was 27 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 1: a big moment in history. Consequently, we've gotten a lot 28 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: of requests for a Reformation episode, including from Sarah Maney 29 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 1: Boris and Josh, and a recent note from Rachel was 30 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 1: what finally sparked today's show. Rachel sent us a quick 31 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: email suggesting that we focus on some of the women 32 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:14,640 Speaker 1: involved in the Reformation. I was originally planning to focus 33 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:18,919 Speaker 1: on just one, but I kept stumbling onto other tidbits 34 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:22,360 Speaker 1: from other women's stories, so I've decided to make this 35 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: episode into one that focuses on three. Alrighty, We're gonna 36 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:31,080 Speaker 1: start with Katerina von Bora, also known as Catherine. She 37 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: was the former nun who in June of fifteen twenty 38 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:38,120 Speaker 1: five married former monk Martin Luther when she was twenty 39 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:41,919 Speaker 1: five and he was forty one. Von Borrow was born 40 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 1: around fourteen ninety nine, although there aren't clear records of 41 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,800 Speaker 1: exactly when or where. In fifteen oh four her family 42 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: sent her to the Benedictine cloister at Breda to be educated. 43 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,280 Speaker 1: Then in fifteen oh eight she moved to a Cistercian 44 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,679 Speaker 1: monastery at Nemshen, where her aunt also lived, and that 45 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:02,600 Speaker 1: is where she eventually became a nun. Von Bora didn't 46 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:05,240 Speaker 1: really like her life as a nun, though, but being 47 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:08,280 Speaker 1: educated in a convent meant that she knew how to read, 48 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:10,920 Speaker 1: and she and some of the other women living there 49 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 1: managed to get access to the writings of Martin Luther 50 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 1: as well as other reformers. This material was almost certainly 51 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 1: banned behind monastic walls, so bringing it in and keeping 52 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: it relatively secret would have taken some gumption. In fifteen 53 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: twenty three, Von Bora and several other women in her 54 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,639 Speaker 1: monastery contacted Martin Luther to ask him for help in escaping. 55 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 1: This was both dangerous and illegal. It was against Roman 56 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: Catholic law for a person who abandon their religious vows, 57 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 1: and people who were caught could be imprisoned. Helping someone 58 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: escape was also illegal, as was harboring or sheltering someone 59 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:53,840 Speaker 1: who had, but Luther agreed to help. On April fourth, 60 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 1: fifteen twenty three, which was Easter Eve, a merchant smuggled 61 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: Katerina and eleven other women out of the convent in 62 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:05,760 Speaker 1: a cart normally used to deliver herring. According to some sources, 63 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: she got out while hiding in a fish barrel. It's 64 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: actually more likely that they were under the coverings used 65 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:16,599 Speaker 1: to cover the fish barrels, but I like the the 66 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:21,719 Speaker 1: barrel was not a delightful smelling ride. Probably not. Katerina 67 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:24,480 Speaker 1: and nine of the other women were taken to Vittenberg, 68 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 1: where they met Martin Luther, and he started trying to 69 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:30,719 Speaker 1: reunite them with their families. When their families weren't willing 70 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:33,799 Speaker 1: to take them back, Luther started trying to find husbands 71 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:36,240 Speaker 1: for them, and he got some kind of situation in 72 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:40,600 Speaker 1: place for everybody except von Bora pretty quickly. She fell 73 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:43,720 Speaker 1: in love with one of Luther's students, but his family 74 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,279 Speaker 1: refused to allow their marriage. For a year, After that 75 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:51,359 Speaker 1: relationship fell through, Von Bora refused every option that was 76 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:55,200 Speaker 1: presented to her. She steadfastly maintained that she would only 77 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:59,120 Speaker 1: marry someone worthy of her and of her choosing. She's 78 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,480 Speaker 1: not going to cut it for some random single person 79 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: to be her husband. She finally said she would either 80 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: marry Lutheran reformer Nicholas von Amsdorf or Luther himself. Those 81 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 1: are her only options that she was willing to agree 82 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:18,359 Speaker 1: to you, and Luther ultimately agreed to do so. A 83 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:22,560 Speaker 1: lot of Luther's Reformation peers did not like this at all. 84 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:28,359 Speaker 1: His collaborator Philip Melanchthon was particularly scathing, writing quote, in 85 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:32,479 Speaker 1: these unhappy times in which good people are suffering so much, 86 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 1: this man lacks compassion and rather, as it seems, revels 87 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: and compromises his good reputation, precisely at a time when 88 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: Germany stands in particular need of his spirit and authority. 89 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:47,919 Speaker 1: The good people suffering so much that he's referring to 90 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:50,839 Speaker 1: here is largely the Peasants Revolt, which was an incredibly 91 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:54,600 Speaker 1: bloody uprising against depression by landlords and members of the 92 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:57,360 Speaker 1: nobility that was going on in Germany at this time. 93 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:01,239 Speaker 1: Aside from this hole, it's not the time for this argument. 94 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,760 Speaker 1: Reformers were worried that Luther's decision to get married was 95 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:07,799 Speaker 1: going to add fuel to claims that the Catholic Church 96 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:11,159 Speaker 1: had made to try to undermine his work, namely that 97 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 1: he was only doing that work to try to get 98 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:17,120 Speaker 1: out of his vows of celibacy. This was compounded by 99 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,359 Speaker 1: the fact that only a year after renouncing his vows, 100 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: he was marrying someone who had abandoned her vows as well. Now, 101 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 1: eventually it would become fairly common for former monks and 102 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 1: former nuns to marry one another, especially when convins and 103 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,359 Speaker 1: monasteries closed down later in the Reformation, but at the 104 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 1: time that Martin Luther himself did this, what they were 105 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 1: doing was absolutely scandalous. So Luther's response to all of 106 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: this criticism was that he had done it to please 107 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:49,400 Speaker 1: his father, who had never approved of his decision to 108 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:52,280 Speaker 1: become a monk, as well as to spite the Devil 109 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 1: and the Pope. Getting married also meant that Luther could 110 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:58,840 Speaker 1: stop feeling like a hypocrite for encouraging Protestant clergy to 111 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:02,680 Speaker 1: marry while not doing so himself. The two of them 112 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:06,120 Speaker 1: finally wed on June thirteenth, fifteen twenty five, more than 113 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:10,240 Speaker 1: two years after von Bora escaped from the monastery. Although 114 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 1: they definitely did not get married for love, I mean, 115 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:17,520 Speaker 1: Luther's comments make that pretty clear, they ultimately wound up 116 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:20,880 Speaker 1: having what was, by all accounts a really supportive and 117 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: loving and affectionate relationship. They had six children, and all 118 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 1: but one of them survived infancy. Eventually, one of von 119 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 1: Bora's relatives and six of Luther's sister's children came to 120 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 1: live with them as well. That is a full house. 121 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:39,400 Speaker 1: It is they had room for so many because their 122 00:07:39,440 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 1: home was the Black Cloister, which was one of the 123 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:47,320 Speaker 1: Luther family holdings in a former Augustinian monastery. This von 124 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:50,880 Speaker 1: Bora converted into a home as well as a thriving business. 125 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 1: She made the old monastic cells into student housing, and 126 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:57,320 Speaker 1: she attracted scholars to live there by playing up the 127 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:01,680 Speaker 1: association with Martin Luther. She managed the property's farm and 128 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:05,200 Speaker 1: its brewery, and when she needed to, she secured donations 129 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:08,280 Speaker 1: to improve the building in the grounds, making it into 130 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 1: what was essentially a sixteenth century conference center. Unsurprisingly, she 131 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,640 Speaker 1: also got a lot of criticism, basically for being really bossy. 132 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:23,360 Speaker 1: That's criticism often leveled at women taking charge of matters 133 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:25,960 Speaker 1: in a way that needs to be done. So. Martin 134 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:29,560 Speaker 1: Luther died in fifteen forty six, and Katerina was heartbroken. 135 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,560 Speaker 1: He had advised her to sell the Black Cloister if 136 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 1: he died, but she really didn't want to do it. 137 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:39,480 Speaker 1: Even so, without his income and influence, she and the 138 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:42,320 Speaker 1: rest of the family really fell on financial hard times. 139 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 1: This was followed by wars and bad harvests and an 140 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:50,760 Speaker 1: outbreak of plague. Fleeing the plague, Katerina went to Torgau, 141 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:54,320 Speaker 1: where she died three months after having been seriously injured 142 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 1: in a cart accident. She died on December twentieth, fifteen 143 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,679 Speaker 1: fifty two, at the age of about fifty three. In 144 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 1: her marriage to Martin Luther, Katerina von Bora became the 145 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:09,000 Speaker 1: prime example of the idea of a clergyman's wife. In 146 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:12,199 Speaker 1: twenty seventeen, it is highly annoying for a woman's own 147 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:15,200 Speaker 1: accomplishments to be framed in terms of her husband, But 148 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:18,400 Speaker 1: in the sixteenth century, a marriage like theirs was really 149 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:23,560 Speaker 1: new territory for Christian women. As emerging Protestant denominations encouraged 150 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:26,920 Speaker 1: members of the clergy to marry Martin Luther, and Katerina 151 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:30,240 Speaker 1: von Bora became the most notable example of what such 152 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:33,520 Speaker 1: a marriage could be like. In their marriage, this was 153 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:37,760 Speaker 1: largely about her being his helpmate while also successfully running 154 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:40,360 Speaker 1: a home and a business, and that left him free 155 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:43,720 Speaker 1: to really focus on his religious work. But these marriages 156 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:46,680 Speaker 1: played out in other ways as well. Some wives of 157 00:09:46,679 --> 00:09:51,199 Speaker 1: the clergy essentially became partners in their husband's ministry, influencing 158 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:55,600 Speaker 1: how scripture was interpreted and taught. Others became prominent members 159 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:58,880 Speaker 1: of their communities, educating children and seeing to the health 160 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 1: and welfare and spiritu wellness of their congregations. This was 161 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:05,880 Speaker 1: also part of an overall change in the kinds of 162 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:09,120 Speaker 1: lives that were considered acceptable for Christian women to lead. 163 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:13,160 Speaker 1: Prior to the Reformation, there were basically two acceptable roles 164 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 1: for a Christian woman, homemaker and none, and one of 165 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 1: those options effectively disappeared for a lot of women during 166 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:24,679 Speaker 1: the Reformation, as families converted away from Catholicism and convents 167 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:27,959 Speaker 1: were closed down, displacing the women who had lived there. 168 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: Of course, men were also displaced with the closure of monasteries, 169 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:34,880 Speaker 1: but they generally had far more options open to them 170 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:38,080 Speaker 1: for what to do with their lives afterward. Yeah, a 171 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:41,280 Speaker 1: man who was displaced from a monastery generally had an 172 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:45,680 Speaker 1: education a lot of times are really good education. He 173 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:48,920 Speaker 1: often had connections with his community, like he could go 174 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:51,520 Speaker 1: on to do other things. And often a woman who 175 00:10:51,559 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 1: was displaced from a convent could get married or go 176 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:56,079 Speaker 1: back home with her parents, and that was That's pretty 177 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:59,600 Speaker 1: much all that was available. Now, being a clergyman's wife 178 00:10:59,679 --> 00:11:02,040 Speaker 1: was not a one to one replacement for being a nun. 179 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:06,520 Speaker 1: Women joined convents both voluntarily and involuntarily for a whole 180 00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,160 Speaker 1: range of reasons, and one of those was the very 181 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:12,040 Speaker 1: practical fact that for a lot of women, a convent 182 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:15,400 Speaker 1: offered more freedom and autonomy than a marriage could, so 183 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:20,120 Speaker 1: being married not the same thing. At the same time, 184 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:24,280 Speaker 1: though the role of the clergy wife did allow some 185 00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:27,720 Speaker 1: women into positions of prominence and influence that they didn't 186 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 1: really have access to before, we should also note this 187 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:33,400 Speaker 1: wasn't the same as actually being in the clergy, and 188 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:38,280 Speaker 1: today there are still plenty of denominations that don't ordain women. Next, 189 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:40,360 Speaker 1: we're going to move on to talking about a couple 190 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:43,680 Speaker 1: of women occupying one of the few other roles considered 191 00:11:43,679 --> 00:11:47,000 Speaker 1: to be suitable for women in the sixteenth century, which 192 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:50,560 Speaker 1: was being royalty. We're gonna talk about that after we 193 00:11:50,600 --> 00:12:01,839 Speaker 1: first paused for a little sponsor break. Before we get 194 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:03,719 Speaker 1: onto our next subject, we need to take just a 195 00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:07,160 Speaker 1: second sablay a little bit more groundwork about the Reformation 196 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:11,320 Speaker 1: in general, because her involvement began before October thirty first, 197 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:15,120 Speaker 1: fifteen seventeen. So even though Martin Luther and his ninety 198 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:18,360 Speaker 1: five Theces are generally considered to be the beginning of 199 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:21,800 Speaker 1: the Reformation, that didn't come out of thin air. People 200 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:25,679 Speaker 1: had been criticizing and trying to reform the church for centuries, 201 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,880 Speaker 1: and in a lot of ways, Martin's Theces recapped and 202 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:32,880 Speaker 1: outlined points that he and other people had already been making. 203 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:37,120 Speaker 1: This was sort of like the Twitter thread that encapsulates 204 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:40,600 Speaker 1: a lot of existing conversations and then goes viral. Often 205 00:12:40,679 --> 00:12:44,680 Speaker 1: these criticisms played out within the church itself. As one example, 206 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:48,400 Speaker 1: when Saint Francis of Assisi established the Franciscan Order in 207 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:51,160 Speaker 1: twelve oh nine, it was with the approval of Pope 208 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 1: Innocent the Third, but today he seen in part as 209 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:57,960 Speaker 1: a reformer, and later followers did their own work to 210 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:01,640 Speaker 1: reform the Franciscan order itself as well as the Greeter Church. 211 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:06,600 Speaker 1: So the Protestant Reformation similarly started as a reform effort 212 00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:09,920 Speaker 1: within the Roman Catholic Church, not as an attempt to 213 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:12,920 Speaker 1: start a new church. When Martin Luther wrote his ninety 214 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:16,400 Speaker 1: five Theses, he wasn't intending to break away from the church, 215 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:19,559 Speaker 1: but to address what he saw as problems that the 216 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 1: church should address. But in fifteen twenty one, the church 217 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:26,439 Speaker 1: excommunicated him, and so what had started out as an 218 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 1: internal reform movement developed into a schism. This also wasn't 219 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:35,800 Speaker 1: the first schism in history. Another previous schism within the 220 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:39,840 Speaker 1: church included the East West Schism of fifteen oh four, 221 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:42,840 Speaker 1: which is what split the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic 222 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:47,400 Speaker 1: Churches apart from one another. So when Marguerite d'angoulem was 223 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:51,079 Speaker 1: born on April eleventh, fourteen ninety two, Martin Luther was 224 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:54,800 Speaker 1: still twenty five years away from posting his ninety five Theses, 225 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,560 Speaker 1: but criticisms of the Roman Catholic Church, many of which 226 00:13:58,559 --> 00:14:03,640 Speaker 1: were incorporated into the Theses, were well underway. Marguerite was 227 00:14:03,679 --> 00:14:08,400 Speaker 1: the daughter of Charles de Valois Orleans and Louise of Savoy, 228 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:11,400 Speaker 1: and she had a younger brother, Francois, who was born 229 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:15,320 Speaker 1: on September twelfth, fourteen ninety four. Although it seemed pretty 230 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,199 Speaker 1: likely that the French monarchs King Louis the twelfth and 231 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:21,360 Speaker 1: Queen Anne would have an heir of their own, Francois 232 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:23,600 Speaker 1: was in a line of succession for the throne, so 233 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:26,480 Speaker 1: he received the sort of education that would prepare him 234 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:30,040 Speaker 1: for the possibility of becoming the king. Then Louise made 235 00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:33,600 Speaker 1: sure that Marguerite got the same education as well. In 236 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:37,359 Speaker 1: fifteen oh nine, Marguerite married Charles, the Duke of Valencon, 237 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:39,960 Speaker 1: and took an active role in trying to improve the 238 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:43,040 Speaker 1: lives of the people of Allenson. She raised money for 239 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:47,040 Speaker 1: hospitals and almshouses, and prompted her brother to establish an 240 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:51,160 Speaker 1: orphanage in Paris. She insisted that poor women be given 241 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:54,360 Speaker 1: shelter and food during the last days of their pregnancies 242 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:57,680 Speaker 1: and after the birth, to try to combat ongoing problems 243 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:02,240 Speaker 1: of infanticide and child abandoned. She also remedied the Alan 244 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:05,640 Speaker 1: Sons Castle's lack of a library, and she began inviting 245 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:08,800 Speaker 1: scholars and poets to stay with them to enrich the 246 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:13,000 Speaker 1: spiritual and emotional atmosphere at court. Her husband did not 247 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:17,360 Speaker 1: have a reputation for being a particularly a scholarly man, 248 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:20,520 Speaker 1: so when Louis the twelfth died without an heir in 249 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:24,600 Speaker 1: fifteen fifteen, Marguerite's brother did become Francis, the first King 250 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:28,360 Speaker 1: of France. She took this same sensibility that she had 251 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 1: put into place in alan son to his court as 252 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:34,400 Speaker 1: one of his advisers. Their mother was influential in the 253 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:37,120 Speaker 1: court as well, and both of these women were really 254 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 1: intelligent and educated and politically aware. They were well read, 255 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:44,000 Speaker 1: and they were informed about all the ongoing efforts to 256 00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:46,960 Speaker 1: reform the church, some of which were considered to be heretical. 257 00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:51,240 Speaker 1: So with Marguerite and Louise both among King Francis's advisers, 258 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:55,160 Speaker 1: the French court became one that welcomed scholars and other 259 00:15:55,240 --> 00:16:00,280 Speaker 1: figures who were advocating for religious reform. Marguerite herself never 260 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,400 Speaker 1: left the Roman Catholic Church, but she and those around 261 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:08,880 Speaker 1: her actively questioned and criticized church teachings and practices. Guests 262 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:12,760 Speaker 1: at the court included Francois Rabell, a humanist and former 263 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:17,760 Speaker 1: priest whose satirical work lampooned religious hypocrisy. Marguerite read and 264 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:21,480 Speaker 1: translated the work of Martin Luther and stridently advocated for 265 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:24,720 Speaker 1: the Bible to be translated into French and available to 266 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:28,480 Speaker 1: the French population. She was a patron to such artists 267 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:32,280 Speaker 1: and scholars as Leonardo da Vinci, John Calvin, and uh 268 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:36,480 Speaker 1: Desidrius Erasmus. She sometimes is known as the mother of 269 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 1: the French Renaissance. She became a student of guillanme Brischelnet, 270 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:44,520 Speaker 1: the Bishop of mux whose followers, who were known as 271 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:47,560 Speaker 1: the Circle of Meu, were at the heart of Reformation 272 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:51,280 Speaker 1: thinking in France at the time. Through the Circle of Mew, 273 00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:54,880 Speaker 1: Marguerite funded the printing and distribution of a range of 274 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 1: Reformation texts in France. She also sought out and obtained 275 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 1: translations of the text to be brought to her in 276 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:03,880 Speaker 1: France so that she could stay up to date about 277 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:07,960 Speaker 1: what was going on. Under Marguerite's influence, King Francois the 278 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 1: First's court also provided protection and shelter to a number 279 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:16,960 Speaker 1: of reformers whose work was considered heretical and blasphemous. Marguerite 280 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,600 Speaker 1: herself might have faced the same fate had she not 281 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:23,320 Speaker 1: been sister to the king, even in spite of her advocacy, 282 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:27,160 Speaker 1: though several of the reformers and scholars Marguerite associated with 283 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:32,040 Speaker 1: were eventually executed for heresy. As all of this was 284 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:36,040 Speaker 1: going on, on February twenty fourth, fifteen twenty five, the 285 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:40,119 Speaker 1: forces of Francis or Francois the First of France fought 286 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:43,600 Speaker 1: those of Habsburg Emperor Charles the Fifth at the Battle 287 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:46,959 Speaker 1: of Pavia, which was part of the Italian Wars. This 288 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:49,359 Speaker 1: is a whole series of conflicts in which a number 289 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:52,960 Speaker 1: of nations, primarily France and Spain, tried to take control 290 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:57,200 Speaker 1: of Italy. This battle was a decisive victory for Charles 291 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:02,119 Speaker 1: the Fifth, and Francis wound up being taken prisoner. Marguerite's husband, Charles, 292 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:04,520 Speaker 1: sort of took the fall for this whole thing. He 293 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:09,159 Speaker 1: died not long after. Marguerite was actively involved in the 294 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:12,960 Speaker 1: negotiations for the release of her brother, including personally meeting 295 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:16,200 Speaker 1: with Charles the Fifth. She returned to France only when 296 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:18,920 Speaker 1: her brother began to suspect that Charles was dragging out 297 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:22,280 Speaker 1: the negotiations on purpose. In the hopes of taking her 298 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:26,159 Speaker 1: captive as well. Her brother was only able to return 299 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:29,440 Speaker 1: home after signing the Treaty of Madrid in fifteen twenty six, 300 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:34,600 Speaker 1: which surrendered all French claims to Italian territory. Later on 301 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:38,000 Speaker 1: that year, Marguerite got married again, this time to Already 302 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:41,520 Speaker 1: the second Valbray, the King of Navarre, on November sixteenth, 303 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:44,360 Speaker 1: fifteen twenty eight. They had a daughter, Jeanne, who will 304 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:48,040 Speaker 1: talk more about in a bit. After remarrying and having 305 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:50,800 Speaker 1: a daughter, Marguerite became a lot less involved in her 306 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:54,040 Speaker 1: brother's court politics, focusing more on her own writing and 307 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 1: her own personal religious studies. She did continue to shelter 308 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: Protestant refugees in Navarre, though, in addition to her translations 309 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:07,000 Speaker 1: of others work, Marguerite was also a writer herself. Her 310 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:10,840 Speaker 1: only work published during her lifetime was Marguerite de la 311 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:14,639 Speaker 1: Marguerite des Princess, which was published in fifteen forty seven. 312 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:18,720 Speaker 1: She died two years later on December twenty first. Her 313 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:23,800 Speaker 1: most notable work, Heptameron, was published posthumously by Claude Gruge 314 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:27,120 Speaker 1: in fifteen fifty nine at the request of Marguerite's daughter. 315 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:31,760 Speaker 1: Written in the style of Baccaccio's De Cameron, it satirizes, 316 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:36,280 Speaker 1: among other things, religious hypocrisy. She wrote volumes of work 317 00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:39,399 Speaker 1: beyond these two works, though much of it existed really 318 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:42,680 Speaker 1: just as her own personal manuscripts until the nineteenth century, 319 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:46,200 Speaker 1: and a lot of it was explicitly religious and infused 320 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:50,600 Speaker 1: with Reformation ideas. There really also were not very many 321 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:54,040 Speaker 1: women who had published work during their lifetimes at this 322 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:59,320 Speaker 1: point in history in Europe. Aside from her writing, Marguerite's 323 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:02,120 Speaker 1: support for the Reformation really helped it to survive in 324 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:06,080 Speaker 1: France in the early to mid sixteenth century. As we noted, earlier, 325 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:09,800 Speaker 1: punishments for spreading material that was deemed to be blasphemous 326 00:20:09,880 --> 00:20:14,119 Speaker 1: or heretical were really severe, and they included execution. So 327 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,680 Speaker 1: without having such consistent and vocal support from the French court, 328 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:21,520 Speaker 1: as well as the active sheltering of Reformation leaders, the 329 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:24,480 Speaker 1: Reformation really might not have established much of a foothold 330 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:29,160 Speaker 1: in France. Marguerite also actively mediated between the Roman Catholic 331 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:33,199 Speaker 1: Church and France Protestants, really advocating for tolerance between the 332 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:37,240 Speaker 1: two of them. She never publicly converted or left the 333 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:41,560 Speaker 1: Roman Catholic Church, likely because to her her religious beliefs 334 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:44,920 Speaker 1: were private, even as they were mirrored in her own writings, 335 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:49,520 Speaker 1: but she so publicly supported reformers and sheltered people accused 336 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:53,280 Speaker 1: of heresy that she's both credited for nurturing Protestantism in 337 00:20:53,359 --> 00:20:58,520 Speaker 1: France and criticized for weakening the Catholic Church there. Unfortunately, 338 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:01,639 Speaker 1: that atmosphere of time tolerance that Marguerite had tried to 339 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:04,800 Speaker 1: nurture did not last long beyond her death in fifteen 340 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:07,320 Speaker 1: forty nine, which is something we're going to talk about 341 00:21:07,359 --> 00:21:20,560 Speaker 1: after another quick sponsor break. Last up in our trio 342 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:27,000 Speaker 1: of Reformation women is Marguerite Dangolam's daughter, jean Delbray. She 343 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:31,000 Speaker 1: was born on November sixteenth, fifteen twenty eight, in Saint Germain, Aalais, 344 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:34,080 Speaker 1: and as was the case with her mother, her upbringing 345 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:37,520 Speaker 1: wasn't exactly typical for the time, even for a princess. 346 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:41,639 Speaker 1: She was tutored by humanist scholars, with Nicholas de Berboon 347 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,560 Speaker 1: overseeing her education. Her mother had the same sort of 348 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:49,120 Speaker 1: influence on Jeanne's education as she had had on her 349 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:53,640 Speaker 1: brother's court in France in fifteen forty when she was eleven. 350 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:57,800 Speaker 1: Jeanne's uncle, King Francis of France or Francois, as you've 351 00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:00,880 Speaker 1: heard us say, arranged for her to be married to William, 352 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:04,120 Speaker 1: Duke of Cleves. As we've mentioned before on the show, 353 00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:07,960 Speaker 1: royal marriages to children were typically seen as political affairs, 354 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:11,119 Speaker 1: and they were not consummated until the couple reached child 355 00:22:11,119 --> 00:22:15,680 Speaker 1: bearing age, often not living together until that time. Regardless, 356 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:18,960 Speaker 1: Jehenne's parents were not in favor of this match. Her 357 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:21,840 Speaker 1: father had been trying to negotiate her marriage to Philip 358 00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:25,720 Speaker 1: of Spain. Either way, regardless of which of these two 359 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:28,600 Speaker 1: men she was going to marry, she was being used 360 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:32,240 Speaker 1: as a pawn for someone else's political ends, and she 361 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:38,480 Speaker 1: was defiantly opposed to marrying William, like just really not 362 00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:42,720 Speaker 1: okay with it. She wrote out a whole document detailing 363 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:45,359 Speaker 1: that the marriage was taking place against her will and 364 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:50,960 Speaker 1: had it witnessed. It began, I, Jehanne de Navarre, continuing 365 00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:54,879 Speaker 1: my protests already made in which I persist, say the Claire, 366 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:59,040 Speaker 1: and protest again by these presents, that the marriage proposed 367 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:02,399 Speaker 1: between me and the Duke of Cleves is against my will, 368 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:05,080 Speaker 1: that I have never consented to it, and I never 369 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:08,480 Speaker 1: will anything that I may say or do after this, 370 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:11,160 Speaker 1: because of which it could be said that I may 371 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:15,000 Speaker 1: have given my consent, will have been because of force 372 00:23:15,359 --> 00:23:18,200 Speaker 1: against my will, out of fear of the King, of 373 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:20,520 Speaker 1: my father, the king, and of my mother, the Queen, 374 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:23,600 Speaker 1: who had me threatened and beaten by the beev decan 375 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:27,320 Speaker 1: my governess. That also went on from there some more. 376 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:31,520 Speaker 1: She didn't really hold back I like it. She also 377 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:34,280 Speaker 1: told King Francis to his face that she would rather 378 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:37,320 Speaker 1: enter a convent than go forward with this marriage. He 379 00:23:37,359 --> 00:23:40,199 Speaker 1: had a reigned, and she yelled so loudly that she 380 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:43,480 Speaker 1: would rather throw herself down a well if people heard 381 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:48,000 Speaker 1: it in the next room. Jeanne protested so vehemently on 382 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:50,520 Speaker 1: her wedding day that she had to be forcibly carried 383 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:54,200 Speaker 1: to the altar. Afterward. The king insisted that the couple 384 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:58,600 Speaker 1: observe some kind of symbolic formality in lieu of consummating 385 00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:02,199 Speaker 1: the marriage, since she was a child, So Jehne and 386 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:04,919 Speaker 1: the Duke were taken to a nuptial chamber, where he 387 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,200 Speaker 1: put one foot on the bed while she was sitting 388 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:10,560 Speaker 1: on it. Jehne's defiance did not stop once the wedding 389 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:14,040 Speaker 1: was over. She continued to object to the unwonted marriage 390 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:17,560 Speaker 1: for five full years. Her mother made a series of 391 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:20,880 Speaker 1: excuses why she couldn't leave for Cleaves to join her husband, 392 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,960 Speaker 1: until the Duke finally just agreed to end the marriage 393 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:27,439 Speaker 1: in fifteen forty three. Pope Paul the third honored a 394 00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:30,280 Speaker 1: request for it to be annulled in fifteen forty five, 395 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:33,359 Speaker 1: and all of this, of course, led to a huge 396 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:36,639 Speaker 1: rift between Marguerite and her brother, who had ordered the 397 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:39,560 Speaker 1: marriage in the first place. Yeah, one of the reasons 398 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:41,920 Speaker 1: that she was not so involved in his court after 399 00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:44,440 Speaker 1: getting married and having a child was that she literally 400 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:48,400 Speaker 1: moved away. But also this happened Jehn's level of really 401 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:51,800 Speaker 1: stubborn defiance and all this was startling to people, not 402 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:55,159 Speaker 1: just because it was not at all the behavior that 403 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:58,520 Speaker 1: was expected of a girl, especially a princess who was 404 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:04,560 Speaker 1: raised to like have certain princessly behaviors, but also because 405 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:08,040 Speaker 1: her health was really frail for pretty much her whole life. 406 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:10,800 Speaker 1: She sort of mustered up a level of strength that 407 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:13,520 Speaker 1: people did not think was in her in all of this. 408 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:18,200 Speaker 1: Three years later, Jeanne married again, this time to Antoine 409 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:21,320 Speaker 1: de Bourbon, and this was another match arranged for her 410 00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:24,600 Speaker 1: for political reasons, this time by King Henri the Second 411 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:27,159 Speaker 1: of France, who had become king after the death of 412 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:31,640 Speaker 1: his father Francois the First or Francis the First. Antoine 413 00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:34,000 Speaker 1: was next in line for the French throne after Henri 414 00:25:34,119 --> 00:25:38,080 Speaker 1: the Second's own sons. While Jeanne agreed to this match, 415 00:25:38,280 --> 00:25:42,000 Speaker 1: this time, her parents refused, putting off their departure so 416 00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:44,960 Speaker 1: long that they were eventually informed that the wedding would 417 00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:48,480 Speaker 1: take place whether they were there or not. Jeanne and 418 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:53,000 Speaker 1: Antoine married on October twentieth, fifteen forty eight. The two 419 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:56,080 Speaker 1: of them had a son, on Riedo Navarre in fifteen 420 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:59,840 Speaker 1: fifty three, and then in fifteen fifty five Jeanne's father 421 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:02,639 Speaker 1: and so she and her husband became the Queen and 422 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:05,879 Speaker 1: King of Navarre. They later had a daughter, Catherine, in 423 00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:09,400 Speaker 1: fifteen fifty nine. The same stubborn defiance that had been 424 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:13,840 Speaker 1: such a hallmark of Jehenne's forced childhood marriage revealed itself 425 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:16,840 Speaker 1: once again in the matter of religion during her time 426 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:21,000 Speaker 1: as Queen of Navarre. In this she actually butted heads 427 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:23,720 Speaker 1: with her mother. She didn't like the fact that her 428 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:26,520 Speaker 1: mother never really took a strong stance one way or 429 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:30,560 Speaker 1: the other. Nevertheless, it was only after her mother's death 430 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:34,879 Speaker 1: that jean officially announced her conversion to Calvinism in fifteen sixty, 431 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:39,720 Speaker 1: and the Kingdom of Navarre became increasingly explicitly Protestant. Under 432 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:43,080 Speaker 1: her and her husband's rule. Was ranged from having the 433 00:26:43,119 --> 00:26:46,880 Speaker 1: New Testament printed in the Basque language, which was spoken locally, 434 00:26:47,359 --> 00:26:52,520 Speaker 1: to forcibly closing monasteries and outlying Catholic religious rituals, to 435 00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:59,280 Speaker 1: eventually establishing Calvinism as the official religion of Navarre. Apart 436 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:03,639 Speaker 1: from Navarre's Catholics, who found themselves persecuted, this presented a 437 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:07,720 Speaker 1: greater problem in the larger scope of Europe. Navarre was 438 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:11,920 Speaker 1: a tiny nation with much larger Catholic neighbors, and although 439 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:15,760 Speaker 1: Jeanne's parents had tried to keep its territory independent from France, 440 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:19,520 Speaker 1: it was really considered to just be a semi autonomous state. 441 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:24,800 Speaker 1: As France put increasing pressure on Navarre to conform to Catholicism, 442 00:27:25,359 --> 00:27:29,320 Speaker 1: Jeanne and Antoine also found themselves caught between two other 443 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:33,600 Speaker 1: powerful families. Catherine de Medici of France was at least 444 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:37,199 Speaker 1: at the time, relatively sympathetic to the French Huguenot cause. 445 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:42,000 Speaker 1: While the Roman Catholic House of Geese was not. Ultimately 446 00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:45,960 Speaker 1: Antoine relented to this pressure and took up the Catholic side, 447 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:50,840 Speaker 1: while Jeanne steadfastly supported the French Huguenot. This erupted in 448 00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:53,880 Speaker 1: the French Wars of Religion beginning in fifteen sixty two. 449 00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:57,359 Speaker 1: That was a series of bloody conflicts and massacres that 450 00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:00,600 Speaker 1: went on literally for decades, which was as much as 451 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:03,760 Speaker 1: civil war as it was a religious one. For Jeanne's 452 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:06,280 Speaker 1: part in the earlier years of the French Wars of Religion, 453 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:11,960 Speaker 1: she reinforced Navarre's defenses, She confiscated Catholic property, she established 454 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:15,840 Speaker 1: a Calvinist community in Baern, and she stayed out of 455 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:18,919 Speaker 1: the actual fighting for the most part, even as she 456 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:22,800 Speaker 1: was branded as a heretic and threatened with excommunication and 457 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:26,080 Speaker 1: threatened with trial under the Inquisition, and even when her 458 00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:28,639 Speaker 1: son Ari was taken captive at the age of four, 459 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:33,440 Speaker 1: she refused to convert fighting for the Catholic side. Antoine 460 00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:37,200 Speaker 1: le siege to Rouen in September of fifteen sixty two. 461 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:41,360 Speaker 1: Although the Catholic side ultimately seized Druen from the Huguenot 462 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:45,280 Speaker 1: and Twine was fatally wounded in the process. He died 463 00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:49,240 Speaker 1: on November seventeenth, fifteen sixty two, and June was denied 464 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:52,000 Speaker 1: entry into France to be with him before he died. 465 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:56,120 Speaker 1: After her husband's death, Jehenne was the sole monarch of Navarre, 466 00:28:56,160 --> 00:29:00,400 Speaker 1: and she refused other offers of marriage, especially since of 467 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:03,040 Speaker 1: them came along with the requirement that she convert back 468 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:08,400 Speaker 1: to Catholicism. Although Jeanne had been actively supporting the Huguenot 469 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:12,040 Speaker 1: cause throughout the French Wars of Religion, it wasn't until 470 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:16,120 Speaker 1: the Third that Navarre really became involved from a military perspective. 471 00:29:16,760 --> 00:29:19,520 Speaker 1: Before that point, she had acted more as a diplomat, 472 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:23,400 Speaker 1: trying to negotiate between Catholic and Protestant forces and balancing 473 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:26,840 Speaker 1: a slew of international factors in the process. But with 474 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:29,520 Speaker 1: the Third War of Religion, it was clear that Navarre 475 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:31,400 Speaker 1: was going to be at the mercy of France and 476 00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:35,240 Speaker 1: Spain if it did not take a military stance, soh 477 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:38,520 Speaker 1: John rallied the troops. She left her council in charge 478 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:41,480 Speaker 1: of Navarre and moved to the Huguenot port of LaRochelle 479 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:44,720 Speaker 1: for about three years. There, she took on the role 480 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:49,240 Speaker 1: of Minister of Propaganda and Foreign Affairs. Just as the 481 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:52,760 Speaker 1: name sounds, she wrote letters and pamphlets and other literature 482 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:56,040 Speaker 1: in support of the Huguenot cause and against religious oppression 483 00:29:56,040 --> 00:30:00,640 Speaker 1: of Protestants. This included her fifteen sixty eight Ample Declaration, 484 00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:03,560 Speaker 1: which was her defense of her move to La Rochelle. 485 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:06,720 Speaker 1: The French wars of religion came to an uneasy piece 486 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:10,440 Speaker 1: with the Piece of Saint Germains Anlais in fifteen seventy, 487 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:15,520 Speaker 1: which made specific allowances for Protestant worship. Members of the 488 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:19,120 Speaker 1: high nobility were allowed to practice Calvinism in their own homes, 489 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:24,360 Speaker 1: and La Rochelle, Montalban, Cognac and La Charite were designated 490 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:30,719 Speaker 1: as Huguenot strongholds. This treaty didn't really please anyone. Staunch 491 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:34,040 Speaker 1: Catholics didn't want Calvinism to be practiced at all, and 492 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:37,480 Speaker 1: most Calvinists still could not worship freely since it was 493 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:40,480 Speaker 1: only the top of the nobility that had gotten that freedom. 494 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:45,000 Speaker 1: The piece also did not last for long. After about 495 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:48,160 Speaker 1: two years of things being pretty touch and go, the 496 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:52,160 Speaker 1: Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre began on August twenty fourth, fifteen 497 00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:56,160 Speaker 1: seventy two. And thousands of French Protestants were killed at 498 00:30:56,160 --> 00:31:00,760 Speaker 1: the hands of Catholics. Jeune had died of tuberque just 499 00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:03,440 Speaker 1: a couple of months before the massacre, on June ninth, 500 00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:07,440 Speaker 1: fifteen seventy two. She was forty four. At the time, 501 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:10,440 Speaker 1: she was negotiating the marriage of her son to Marguerite 502 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:13,680 Speaker 1: de Valois, daughter of Catherine de Medici and Anri the 503 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:17,440 Speaker 1: second of France. Jeanne hoped that a marriage between the 504 00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:20,040 Speaker 1: royal families of Navarre in France would lead to a 505 00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:23,240 Speaker 1: longer lasting piece and that it would give her Protestant 506 00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:26,120 Speaker 1: son a greater influence, and in a way it did 507 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:29,880 Speaker 1: exactly the opposite. It was actually that very wedding that 508 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:34,040 Speaker 1: attracted so many high rank a Huguenot to Paris, where 509 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:38,320 Speaker 1: the massacre began. So there are a lot of podcasts 510 00:31:38,320 --> 00:31:42,160 Speaker 1: about the Medici family, including this particular marriage, as well 511 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:44,360 Speaker 1: as a couple that get into the Saint Bartholomews Day 512 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:46,520 Speaker 1: massacre in more detail in our archive, and we will 513 00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:49,760 Speaker 1: link to them both in the show notes. The reason 514 00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:53,800 Speaker 1: that I wanted to talk about these particular women as 515 00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:58,520 Speaker 1: as the episode expanded to be about three women instead 516 00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:00,440 Speaker 1: of just won one of them is that each of 517 00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:03,720 Speaker 1: them had something just so particularly compelling to me and 518 00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:07,760 Speaker 1: their stories. There was the fish barrel, and there was 519 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:13,040 Speaker 1: the hiding of people who were at risk of being 520 00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:17,640 Speaker 1: executed for heresy, this vehement opposition to being married off 521 00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:19,480 Speaker 1: to somebody as a child, Like each of them had 522 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:21,160 Speaker 1: a moment that made me go, I really want to 523 00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:24,320 Speaker 1: talk about this in the show. And the other is 524 00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:29,120 Speaker 1: that all three of them were really influential people in 525 00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:33,440 Speaker 1: the Protestant Reformation, but in three really distinct ways. Like 526 00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:37,440 Speaker 1: you had a woman who was basically making room for 527 00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:39,760 Speaker 1: Martin Luther to do all of this religious work that 528 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:42,400 Speaker 1: he was doing, and he is I think probably the 529 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:47,520 Speaker 1: most He and John Callen are like the most notable 530 00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:51,479 Speaker 1: people in the Reformation, I think at least I think 531 00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:54,480 Speaker 1: those are the names that people are most likely to recognize. 532 00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:58,640 Speaker 1: And then Marguerite was really negotiating and trying to keep 533 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:03,080 Speaker 1: the peace and trying to also make room for there 534 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:05,720 Speaker 1: to be a Protestant movement in France. And then we 535 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:08,760 Speaker 1: have John who was the person who took took up 536 00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:13,000 Speaker 1: arms in the very violent struggle that this blossomed into 537 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:20,520 Speaker 1: that went on for so long. Thanks so much for 538 00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:23,400 Speaker 1: joining us on this Saturday. If you'd like to send 539 00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:27,280 Speaker 1: us a note, our email addresses History Podcast at iHeartRadio 540 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:30,360 Speaker 1: dot com, and you can subscribe to the show on 541 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:33,800 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 542 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:34,880 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.