Chapter 17 - Philippa Woodcock

Early Modern Monarchy and Foreign Travel

Travel had long been used as a tool to unite disparate territories, and to cement alliances between monarchs. However, with the rise of the ambassador, some monarchs such as the later Bourbon kings, never left their territories. In contrast, Louis XII led armies over the Alps into Italy, and Henri III travelled to Poland to become its king, and from there journeyed to Austria and Italy, and back to France. This chapter shows how such royal travel had an impact upon royal power, in particular the Valois quest to assert notions of 'imperial dominion', whether through conquest or skilled diplomatic behaviour.

It considers how elements of travel such as entourage, and transport allowed a king to display his magnificence as he travelled, as well as to tie his nobility to his plans for foreign invasion and rule, and indirectly, improve a kingdom’s infrastructure. In contrast, both kings also desired anonymity at times, and the chapter demonstrates the problems inherent for any monarch who wished to temporarily downplay his earthly status. Finally, perceptions of the speed and difficulty of a journey, and how they reflected upon the monarch’s ability to rule and lead are followed in texts and images.

By Philippa Woodcock

Philippa Woodcock

Philippa Woodcock received her PhD in History from the University of London. She is a Lecturer in Early Modern European History at the University of the Highlands and Islands. She is interested in military, political and landscape history, and her work has appeared in French History, Church History and Religious Culture, and the Royal Studies Journal, as well as published in The Dictionary of Fashion.

Bibliography

Manuscript and archival sources

Archives Nationales de France (AN)

J/910/1-6 for the duchy of Milan’s accounts.

O/1/895-904 for the royal haras and coaches.

O/1/904 Voyages du Roi.

Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BN)

BN MS FR 1194.

BN Ms Fr 3012.

BN MS Fr 5081, 5082, 5083 : Jean d’Auton, Chroniques de Louis XII.

BN MS Fr 5089:  Jean d’Auton. “Les alarmes de Mars sur le voyage de Millan, avecques la conqueste et entrée d'icelle.” Par le roi Louis XII. Le 6 octobre 1499.

BN Ms Fr 22335.

BN MS Ital. 1592.

BN MS Latin 8132, frontispiece.

Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel

Guelfol. 86.4 Extravagantes fols.7v-8r.

Musée de la Renaissance, Ecouen

E. Cl 21108 A and B.

Archivio di Stato, Venice (ASV)

Collegio Lettere Principi Francia 25-30.

Consiglio di Dieci, Deliberazioni, Comuni, Filze 264.

Printed primary sources

d’Auton, Jean. Chroniques de Louis XII. Edited by René de Maulde la Clavière. Four volumes. Paris: Renouard, 1889-1895.

Giunti, Bernardo. Cronica breve de i fatti illustri de' re di Francia, con le loro effigie dal naturale, cominciando da Faramondo primo re di Francia, che regno l'anno della nostra salute CCCXX, sino a Henrico III, che regna hora del 1588 ; nella quale si contiene sotto brevita, in che tempo cominciassero a regnare, e l'imprese più notabili fatte da essi, e quanto tempo regnassero ; con somma fede e diligenza tratta dall' historie, cosi francese come italiane, e con una breve dichiaratione etiandio de i re, che furono dopo il diluvio, cavata da Beroso, e da altri antichi auttori. Venice: Bernardo Giunti: 1588.

Lettres de Henri III, roi de France. Edited by Pierre Champion. Seven volumes. Paris: Klinksieck, 1959-2012.

Marot, Jean. Sur les deux heureux voyages de Gênes et Venise victorieusement mys à fin par le très chrestien roy Loys douziesme de ce nom, père du peuple , et véritablement escriptz par iceluy Jan Marot, alors poete & escriuain de la tresmagnanime Royne Anne, Duchesse de Bretaigne, & depuys, Valet de chambre du treschrestien Roy Francoys, premier du nom. Paris : Pierre Roffet, 1533. Reprinted as Marot, Jean. Sur les deux heureux voyages de Gênes et Venise victorieusement mys à fin (Ed.1532). Paris: Hachette BNF, n.d.

“Journal de Pierre Lestoile.” In Nouvelle Collection des Mémoires pour servir à l’Histoire de France depuis le XIIIe siecle jusqu’à la fin du XVIIIe. Second series, vol 1, part 1. Paris: Edouard Proux, 1837.

Secondary sources

Abbott, Jacob. Peter the Great. New York: Seven Treasures, 2009.

Babeau, Albert. “Les souverains étrangers en France du Xe au XVIIIe siècle.” Offprint of Revue des questions historiques (1903).

Babelon, Jean-Pierre. Preface to L’Itinéraire d’Henri IV : Les 20597 jours de sa vie, by Jean-Claude Cuignet, 5-7. Bizanos: Héraclès, 1997.

Baxendale, John. “The Construction of the Past and the Origins of Royal Tourism in 19th century Britain.” In Royal Tourism Excursions around Monarchy, edited by Philip Long and Nicola J. Palmer, 26-50. Clevedon: Channel View Publications, 2008.

Beaune, Colette. Preface to Fastes de Cour. Les enjeux d’un voyage princier à Blois en 1501, by Monique Chatenet and Pierre-Gilles Girault, 7-12. Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2010.

Bély, Lucien. Espions et ambassadeurs au temps de Louis XIV. Paris: Fayard, 1990.

de Bengy de Puyvallée, Philippe-Jacques. Mémoire historique sur le Berry: et particulièrement sur quelques châteaux du département de Cher. Bourges: Vermeil, 1842.

Bertrand, Pascal-François. “A New Method of Interpreting the Valois Tapestries through a History of Catherine de Médicis.” Decorative Arts 14 (2006-7): 27-52.

Bordenove, Georges. Henri III. Paris: Pygmalion, 1988.

Boutier, Jean, Dewerpe, Alain, and Nordman, Daniel. Un tour de France royal : Le voyage de Charles IX 1564-66. Paris: Aubier, 1984.

Brasme, Pierre. Quand Metz reçoit la France: souverains et chefs d'État français dans la cité messine. Metz: Paraiges, 2011.

Briggs, Linda. “Concernant le service de leurs dictes Majestez et auctorite de leur justice’ : Perceptions of Royal Power in the Entries of Charles IX and Catherine de Medicis (1564-1566.” In Ceremonial Entries in Early Modern Europe: The Iconography of Power, edited by J.R. Mulryne, Maria Ines Aliverti, and Anna Maria Testaverde, 37-52. Farnham: Ashgate, 2015.

Baxendale, John. “The Construction of the Past and the Origins of Royal Tourism in 19th century Britain.” In Royal Tourism Excursions around Monarchy, edited by Philip Long and Nicola J. Palmer, 26-50. Clevedon: Channel View Publications, 2008.

Brotton, Jerry. The Renaissance Bazaar.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Brown, Cynthia Jane. The Shaping of History and Poetry in Late Medieval France: Propaganda and Artistic Expression in the Works of the Rhetoriqueurs. Birmingham AL: Summa, 1985.

Carroll, Stuart. Martryrs and Murderers. The Guise Family and the Making of Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.

Champdor, Albert. Les Rois de France à Lyon.Lyon: Albert Guillot, 1986.

Champion, Albert. Henri III roi de Pologne.Paris: Grasset, 1943.

Conchon, Anne, Bruno Maes, Isabelle Paresys, and Robert Muchembled, editors. Dictionnaire de l’Ancien Régime. Paris: Armand-Colin, 2004.

Cuignet, Jean-Claude. L’Itinéraire d’Henri IV: Les 20597 jours de sa vie. Bizanos: Héraclès, 1997.

Cuvetier, Joseph. “Un Voyage princier en Belgique au XVIIe siècle.” Extract of the Bulletin Officiel du Touring Club de Belgique. Brussels: F van Buggenhoudt, 1923.

Delalex, Hélène. La galerie des Carrosses Château de Versailles. Paris: Editions Artlys, 2016.

Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie française 1694, t. 1 [ 1694 ], Incognito: [] train ordinaire, ni les autres marques qui les distinguent. Accessed 1 July 2017. https://artfl-project.uchicago.edu/content/dictionnaires-dautrefois.

Dive, Bruno. Air Sarko. Chroniques des Voyages Présidentielle. Paris: Jacob-Duverent, 2008.

Edwards, Peter. “Une forme d’étalage ostentatoire : la mode des carrosses et l’aristocratie anglaise du XVIIe siècle.” In Voitures, chevaux et attelages, du XVIe au XIXe siècle, edited by Daniel Reytier, 41-49. Paris: Art équestre de Versailles, 2000.

Firmin, Gwenola, Francine-Dominique Liechtenhan, and Thierry Sarmant, editors. Peter the Great: A Tsar in France – 1717, exhibition catalogue, Château de Versailles, 30 May-24 September 2017. Versailles: Lienart, 2017.

de la Gorce, Jerôme, Béatrix Saule, and Elisabeth Caudé, editors. Fêtes et divertissements à la cour, exhibition catalogue, Château de Versailles, 29 November 2016-26 March 2017. Paris: Galimard, 2016.

Haquet, Isabelle. L’énigme Henri III. Ce que nous révèlent les images. Paris: Presses Universitaires de Paris Ouest, 2011.

Hochner, Nicole. “Le Trône vacant du roi Louis XII. Significations politiques de la mise en scène royale en Milanais.” In Louis XII en Milanais, edited by Philippe Contamine and Jean Guillaume, 227-244. Paris: Librairie Honoré Champion, 2003.

Hunt, John M. “Carriages, Violence, and Masculinity in Early Modern Rome.” I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance 17 (2014): 175-196.

Hunt, John M. “The Ceremonial Possession of a City: Ambassadors and their Carriages in Early Modern Rome.” Royal Studies Journal 3, no. 2 (2016): 69-89.

Hochner, Nicole. Louis XII: Les dérèglements de l’image royale. Seyssel: Champ Vallon, 2006.

Jaffré, Marc. W.S. “The Early Bourbon Courts.” Unpublished PhD dissertation, St Andrews University, 2017.

Korsch, Evelyn. “Diplomatic Gifts on Henri III’s visit to Venice in 1574.” Studies in the Decorative Arts 15 (2007): 83-113.

Korsch, Evelyn, Nicola Imrie, and Pamela J. Warner.  “Diplomatic Gifts on Henri III's Visit to Venice in 1574.” Studies in the Decorative Arts 15, no. 1 (2007–2008): 83-113.

Korsch, Evelyn. “Renaissance Venice and the Sacred-Political Connotations of Waterborne Pageants.” In Waterborne Pageants and Festivities in the Renaissance. Essays in honour of J.R.Mulryne, edited by Margaret Shewring and Linda Briggs, 79-97. Farnham: Ashgate, 2013.

Knecht, R.J. Renaissance Warrior and Patron The Reign of Francis I. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.

Knecht, R.J. The Rise and Fall of Renaissance France. London: Fontana, 1996.

Knecht, R.J. The French Wars of Religion, 1559-1598. Abingdon: Routledge, 2014.

Langen, Ulrich. “The Meaning of Incognito.” The Court Historian 7, no. 2 (2002): 145-55.

Lapeyre, Henri. “Les voyages de Charles Quint.” L'Histoire 30 (1981): 58-65.

Le Fur, Didier. Louis XII. Paris: Perrin, 2010.

Levantal, Christophe. Louis XIV chronographie d'un règne: ou biographie chronologique du Roi-Soleil établie d'après la "Gazette" de Théophraste Renaudot: les 28121 journées du Roi entre le 5 septembre 1638 et le 1er septembre 1715. Two volumes. Gollion: Paris, 2009.

Levy, Tania. “La fête imprévue: entrées royales et solennelles à Lyon (1460–1530).” Questes 31 (2015): 33-44.

Long, Philip. “Introduction.” In Royal Tourism Excursions around Monarchy, edited by Philip Long and Nicola J. Palmer, 1-25. Clevedon: Channel View Publications, 2008.

Morales Folguera and José Miguel. “El viaje triunfal de Carlos V por Sicilia tras la victoria de Túnez.” Imago: revista de emblemática y cultura visual 7 (2015): 97-111.

Munby, Julian. “Les Origines du Coche.” In Voitures, chevaux et attelages, du XVIe au XIXe siècle, edited by Daniel Reytier, 75-87. Paris: Art équestre de Versailles, 2000.

Nelson, Janet L. “Carolingian Royal Ritual.” In Rituals of Royalty, edited by David Cannadine and Simon Price, 137-180. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.

Nordman, Daniel. “La connaissance géographique de l’état (XIVe-XVIIe siècles).” In L’etat moderne, le droit, l’espace: actes du colloque tenu à la Baume Les Aix, 11-12 octobre 1984, edited by Noel Coulet, 175-188. Paris: CNRS, 1990.

O’Donnell y Duque de Estrada, Hugo. “La travesia maritima de Carlos V para su coronacion imperial en 1520.” Revista de Historia Naval 19, no. 72 (2001): 49-64.

Ramirez, Juan Antonio. The Beehive Metaphor: From Gaudi to Le Corbusier (London: Reaktion, 2000).

Roche, Daniel. “Introduction.” In Voitures, chevaux et attelages, du XVIe au XIXe siècle, edited by Daniel Reytier, 7-23. Paris: Art équestre de Versailles, 2000.

Scheller, Robert W. “Ensigns of authority: French royal symbolism in the age of Louis XII.” Simiolus 13 (1983): 75-141.

Scheller, Robert W. “Gallia cisalpine: Louis XII and Italy 1499-1508.” Simiolus 15 (1985): 5-60

Schrenk, Gilbert. “L’image du Prince dans le Journal de Henri III de Pierre de l’Estoile, ou l’enjeu d’un écriture.” In L’image du souverain dans les lettres françaises des Guerres de Religion à la Revocation de l’Edit de Nantes, edited by Noémi Hepp and Madeleine Bertaud, 15-25. Paris: Klincksieck, 1985.

Sherman, Michael. “Pomp and Circumstances: Pageantry, Politics and Propaganda in France during the Reign of Louis XII, 1498-1515.” Sixteenth Century Journal 9 (1978): 13-32.

Thibault, Pascale, editor. Louis XII : Images d’un Roi de l’imperateur au père du peuple, exhibition catalogue, Château de Blois, 18 December 1987-14 February 1988. Blois: Ville de Blois, Conservation du château et des musées, 1987.

di Tullio, Matteo, and Luca Fois, editors. Stati di guerra. I bilanci della Lombardia francese del primo Cinquecento. Rome: Ecole Francaise de Rome, 2014.

Uriol, José I. “Viajes de Carlos V por España.” Historia y Vida 19, no. 219 (1986): 36-49.

Viallon, Marie. “Les honneurs de Venise à Henri de Valois, roi de France et de Pologne: Etude du séjour vénitien du roi Henri III en 1574.” Paper presented at the RSA, Venice, April 2010. Accessed 12 December 2016. https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00550971.

Woodcock, Philippa. “Living Like a King? The Entourage of Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, Governor of Milan.” Royal Studies Journal 2, no. 2 (2015): 1-25.

Annotated bibliography

  • Briggs, L. (2015) ‘Concernant le service de leurs dictes Majestez et auctorite de leur justice’ : Perceptions of Royal Power in the Entries of Charles IX and Catherine de Medicis (1564-1566,” In Ceremonial Entries in Early Modern Europe: The Iconography of Power, edited by J.R. Mulryne, Maria Ines Aliverti and Anna Maria Testaverde, 37-52. Farnham: Ashgate.
    • An ideal article to introduce the importance of royal entries and iconography in Valois France, as well as touching on female rule.
  • Delalex, H. (2016) La galerie des Carrosses Château de Versailles, Paris: Editions Artlys.
    • This short guide to the collections of the royal château of Versailles illustrates the changing technology of horse drawn vehicles.
  • Firmin, G.; Liechtenhan, F-D.; Sarmant, T. (eds.) (2017) Peter the Great: A Tsar in France – 1717, exhibition catalogue, Château de Versailles, 30 May-24 September 2017, Versailles: Lienart.
    • This exhibition catalogue details the later journeys to France of Peter the Great, showing how he used travel for wider political goals, as well as to learn about Versailles' court culture.
  • Haquet, I. (2011), L’énigme Henri III. Ce que nous révèlent les images, Paris: Presses Universitaires de Paris Ouest.
    • This in-depth study provides original analysis of the iconography of the enigmatic Henri III.
  • Korsch, Evelyn. “Renaissance Venice and the Sacred-Political Connotations of Waterborne Pageants.” In Waterborne Pageants and Festivities in the Renaissance. Essays in honour of J.R.Mulryne, edited by Margaret Shewring and Linda Briggs, 79-97. Farnham: Ashgate, 2013.
    • Closer analysis of the use of water-borne transport to impress guests with Venetian power.
  • Scheller, R. W. (1983) ‘Ensigns of authority: French royal symbolism in the age of Louis XII,’ Simiolus, 13: 75-141.
  • Scheller, R. W. (1985) ‘Gallia cisalpine: Louis XII and Italy 1499-1508,’ Simiolus, 15: 5-60.
    • Both of these articles explore the various symbolism and heraldry employed by Louis XII to convey different aspects of his rule. In particular, they show which ideas were used in France, and in Milan, reflecting his different role as king and as duke. 
  • Viallon, M. (2010) ‘Les honneurs de Venise à Henri de Valois, roi de France et de Pologne : Etude du séjour vénitien du roi Henri III en 1574,’ Paper presented at the RSA, Venice, April 2010. Published online at www.halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00550971, accessed 12 December 2016.
    • The best recent account of Henri III’s trip to Venice.

Reading List

  • Long, P.; Palmer, N.J. (eds.) (2008) Royal Tourism Excursions around Monarchy, Clevedon: Channel View Publications.
    • An edited volume introducing wider discussion of travel by members of European royal families in the modern age. Nonetheless, there are many parallels to the early modern period in terms of the aims, propaganda and organisation of royal travel.
  • La Reine Margot (1994) (18)
    • A French language film, based on the novel of Alexandre Dumas. Nonetheless, this is a very compelling introduction to the late Valois court, where the Catholic Marguerite de Valois (Isabelle Adjani) is forced into marriage with the Protestant Henri de Navarre (Daniel Auteuil). Her brothers, Charles IX (Jean-Hugues Anglade), and the future Henri III (Pascal Greggory) torment her, and her husband’s co-religionists, whilst her mother, Catherine de Medici (Virna Lisi) tries to balance the court’s rival political factions.
  • Dangerous Beauty (1998) (15)
    • Recounting the story of Veronica Franco (Catherine McCormack), late sixteenth century Venice’s most celebrated historian, this briefly touches upon Henri III’s (Jake Weber) visit from a woman’s point of view. When the king visits the city, Veronica is charged with the job of entertaining him, in order to secure French friendship for the Venetian Republic. The film recreates the sumptuous background and carnival atmosphere of Henri III’s visit in 1574.

Links

  • Gallica - www.gallica.bnf.fr
    • With over 4 million digitised documents from the National Library of France, this is the ideal portal to consult original texts, such as d’Auton or Marot’s accounts of Louis XII’s travels in Italy.
  • Archim des guerres de religion à l’édit de Tolérance vers 1540-vers 1788 - www2.culture.gouv.fr/documentation/archim/desguerresdereligion.htm
    • French National Archives selection of key, original texts for later Valois History, including the early Wars of Religion, the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre, and the assassination of Henri III.

Keywords

Louis XII; Henri III; Francis I; Peter the Great; Cosimo III de’Medici; Catherine de‘ Medici; Valois; Bourbon; Duchy of Milan; Travel; Infrastructure; Transport

Related Chapters

Charlotte Backerra: Personal Union, Composite Monarchy, and “Multiple Rule” (See Chapter 6)

Jonathan Spangler: A Family Affair: Cultural Anxiety, Political Debate and the Nature of Monarchy in Seventeenth-Century France and Britain (See Chapter 27)