to Prince Charles, later King Charles VIII.
She moved to the royal court of France
but returned to her family when Charles
repudiated her and married Anne of Brit-
tany. In 1497 she married Prince Juan of
Asturias, the heir of Ferdinand and Isa-
bella of Spain, but the marriage ended
with Juan’s death six months after the wed-
ding ceremony. In 1501 she married Philib-
ert II, the Duke of Savoy, who died in
- She became regent of the Nether-
lands in 1507, and played an important
role in the troubled and rebellious lands
that were under the nominal rule of her
father, the emperor. A talented musician
and composer, she welcomed many of
Europe’s leading musicians to her court.
In 1529, representing her young nephew
Charles V, she settled the Treaty of Camb-
rai with Louise Savoy, mother of Francis I.
This “Ladies’ Peace” confirmed Habsburg
control of contested territory in northern
Italy.
SEEALSO: Charles V
Margaret of Parma ..........................
(1522–1586)
Duchess of Parma and regent of the Neth-
erlands. Margaret was the illegitimate
daughter of Emperor Charles V and Jo-
hanna van der Gheynst, the servant of a
Flemish noble. Her great aunt was Marga-
ret of Austria, who was regent of the Neth-
erlands from 1507 until her death in 1530.
In 1533, Charles recognized her as his le-
gitimate daughter. She was engaged to Al-
exander de’ Medici, the son of the pope,
and married him in 1536. After her hus-
band was assassinated in the next year, she
married the Duke of Parma. She was an
able and intelligent woman who was ap-
pointed regent of the Netherlands by
Philip II in 1559. Her reign was marked
by a general revolt against Habsburg rule
by the Protestant Netherlanders. In 1567,
Margaret resigned her regency and fled
the troubled Netherlands for Italy. Her son
Alexander Farnese succeeded her as
governor-general.Marguerite of Navarre .....................
(1492–1549)
A French author, religious reformer, and
noble, the sister of King Francis I (Francois
I) who played a major role in the cultural
flowering and religious conflicts of Renais-
sance France. The daughter of Charles,
Count of Angouleme, and Louise of Savoy,
she was raised in Angouleme and Cognac
and was offered an education in Latin and
letters. Through her marriage to King
Henry II of Navarre, she became the queen
of Navarre, a realm lying just beyond the
borders of France and Spain. She held a
salon that attracted the most renowned
writers and poets of France, including
Francois Rabelais, Pierre de Ronsard, and
Desiderius Erasmus. An able diplomat, in
1525 she negotiated with Emperor Charles
V for the release of her brother after his
capture at the Battle of Pavia. The king al-
lowed her to sit on his council of minis-
ters and negotiate treaties with England.
The queen took a strong interest in re-
form of the Catholic Church, in order to
counter the radical Protestant movement
that was sweeping away traditional church
institutions in Germany, Switzerland, and
the Netherlands. She defended French
“Evangelicals,” or reformers, including
Gerard Roussel, from charges of heresy,
and allowed many of them to take refuge
in Navarre. In 1534, she helped John
Calvin to escape France under threat of
persecution for heresy. She also established
charities and a system of public education
for the needy, a unique institution in Re-
naissance Europe.Marguerite of Navarre