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hrjWhile writing fantasy is probably my first fictional love, I have a deep and abiding passion for historic fiction. A significant proportion of my half-started trunk novels might be described as "lesbians through the ages in Welsh history", combining several of my rather idiosyncratic passions. But my first published historic romance story, "Where My Heart Goes", fell outside my usual centuries and locations, being set in mid-16th century Italy.
One of the standard failure modes for historic fiction is to cram too much of your background research into the story itself. Given the word-count limit I was working with, that wasn't a serious temptation in this case. But I thought it would be fun to share the historic framework from which I distilled my version of history.
The immediate inspiration, of course, was one of the articles I covered for the Lesbian Historic Motif Project: Eisenbichler, Konrad. “Laudomia Forteguerri Loves Margaret of Austria” in Same Sex Love and Desire Among Women in the Middle Ages (ed. By Francesca Canadé Sautman & Pamela Sheingorn), Palgrave, New York, 2001.
Eisenbichler examined the love sonnets that Laudomia wrote to Margaret, the commentary of their contemporaries on the deep emotional bond between the two women, and both their personal and society context that might shed light on the details of that emotional bond. The poems themselves are, to some extent, conventional in their imagery, unusual only in that those conventions of romantic love are addressed from one woman to another. But the strength of their emotional connection as such that Laudomia's admirer and countryman Agnolo Firenzuola invoked Plato's mythologized explanation of desire as individuals seeking their literal "other half", though Firenzuola felt the need to contrast "those who...love each other’s beauty, some in purity and holiness, as the elegant Laudomia Forteguerra loves the most illustrious Margaret of Austria, some lasciviously, as ... in Rome the great prostitute Cecilia Venetiana.”
Another contemporary noted that at their first meeting, “as soon as Laudomia saw Madama [i.e., Margaret], and was seen by her, suddenly with the most ardent flames of Love each burned for the other, and the most manifest sign of this was that they went to visit each other many times.” And on one of these visits, “they renewed most happily their sweet Loves, and today more than ever, with notes from one to the other they warmly maintain them.”
Their contemporaries seem to have raised no concerns about any possible "lascivious" angle to their love, though in a later century the scandal-monger Brantôme accused them of having a sexual relationship.
In the context of historical speculation, this seemed more than enough basis for imagining a romance between the two women. But what were the historical facts within which this romance would have played out? Historical facts should be outside any prohibition on spoilers, but on the off chance that readers feel differently, I'll put the rest of this behind a cut. Here are the intriguing lives of these women that inspired my story. In addition to Eisenbichler's article, and some basic background from Wikipedia, the bulk of my research was supplied by Charlie R. Steen's Margaret of Parma: A Life (Leiden: Brill, 2013).
1515 - Laudomia was born to one of the foremost families of Siena, the first child of her father's second marriage. She had an older brother from her father's previous marriage and at least six younger siblings.
1521 - Margaret's mother, Johanna Maria van der Gheynst, became the mistress of Emperor Charles V.
1522 - Margaret is born in Oudenaarde (modernly in Belgium).
1525 - Margaret's mother was married off and there were brief negotiations to betroth Margaret to the Pope's illegitimate son Ippolyte de' Medici. Siena undergoes a political shift when the Petrucci family lost power.
1526 - Marriage negotiations for Margaret continue. She is briefly betrothed to Ercole, the heir to Ferrara. She is regularly mentioned as being present at the court of her aunt Margaret of Austria (governer of the Netherlands) but is still being referred to as "the little bastard".
1527 - Soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire sack Rome. The Medicis are expelled from Florence.
1529 - Margaret is now betrothed to the Pope's nephew, Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence. She is formally acknowledged by her father the Emperor and officially designated "Margaret of Austria". The marriage contract is signed. As part of the agreement, Charles V will provide military support to Alessandro as Duke of Florence and Margaret will be given Ravenna as a dowry, along with other territories. The Florentine bishop Leonardo Tornabuoni travels to Brussels to meet Margaret as Alessandro's representative.
1530 - The Holy Roman Empire establishes a garrison at Siena. Margaret's aunt and guardian dies and another aunt, Mary of Hungary takes over from her, both as Margaret's guardian and as Governor of the Netherlands.
1531 - Alessandro comes to Brussels to meet Margaret. This is also the first occasion on which Margaret meets her father, Charles V. She is eight years old. The marriage is planned to take place four years later. History does not record Margaret's impression of Alessandro, but he already had a reputation for being unpredictably violent and licentious.
1533 - Laudomia may have married at this date. Alessandro's uncle, Pope Clement VII (a supporter of the Sienese republic) will surviving for another year. Margaret travels to Italy in an elaborate formal procession, being entertained by various key cities to demonstrate their support for Charles. After a formal reception at Rome, she is established in Naples until she is of age for the wedding to Alessandro.
1534 - Pope Clement dies and is succeeded by Pope Paul III who was the grandfather of Ottavio Farnese who would later become Margaret's second husband.
1535 - Laudomia's first child is born. There are rumors that Margaret's marriage to Alessandro will be cancelled and that she will be betrothed to Ottavio instead. Alessandro is involved in violent scandals and is accused of murdering his cousin.
1536 - The Florentines pressure Charles to move ahead with Margaret's marriage. A civil marriage ceremony is held just before Lent with the pledge that it will not be consummated for six months. Margaret is thirteen years old, Alessandro is twenty-seven. Margaret relocates to Florence with great pomp and ceremony. The religious marriage ceremony is held in June. Alessandro's behavior has grown even more violent and the citizens of Florence hold him in contempt.
1537 - Alessandro's cousin (and former friend) Lorenzaccio assassinates Alessandro in January, to the delight of the citizens of Florence. Margaret is placed under the protection of Cosimo de' Medici (who has been picked for the next Duke of Florence). Margaret seems to have felt some affection for Cosimo and later attempts to influence her father to choose him as her next husband. Charles orders Margaret to be removed from Florence for her own safety and she is installed at Prato, accompanied by Spanish troops. In Prato she seems to have enjoyed a rich and free lifestyle, surrounding herself with musicians and poets and going off hunting in the nearby hills for days at a time. Late in the year she has new guardians appointed who pull in the reins a bit and begin preparing her for her next marriage to Ottavio Farnese.
1538 - Margaret is married to Ottavio. Margaret has been dragging her heels and has a very poor opinion of Ottavio (who was twelve at the time). She travels from Prato to Rome for the wedding and stops in Siena for three weeks along the way. There is a confirmed meeting between her and Laudomia at this time. In Rome, Margaret charms the people, surrounds herself with cultural and scholarly figures at her own villa, and does everything she can to put off the marriage until she is tricked into accepting a ring which is considered her acceptance. She refuses to consummate the marriage until the end of the year, and even then claims that her husband is incapable of performing.
1540 - Margaret is still refusing to consummate the marriage and doesn't mind who knows it. Her father pressures her but treats the matter as ordinary political posturing. The people of Rome are sympathetic as the Farneses are becoming increasingly disliked.
1541 - By this date, Laudomia has written her sonnets to Margaret. Charles outright orders Margaret to consummate her marriage. She begins promoting Ottavio's interests though for her own purposes but holds fast on the sex thing. In an age of sexual scandal, her name is never associated with any male lover and at least one political commenter notes that she has no interest in men. Ottavio joins Charles on an expedition against the Turks in Algiers.
1543 - Charles and Ottavio return to Italy. Margaret tries to bargain for the Duchy of Milan in exchange for finally consummating her marriage but Charles has grown out of patience and refuses. Margaret finally gives in. When Charles leaves Italy, she will never see her father in person again.
1544 - Relations between the Pope and the Emperor hit a new low. Ottavio feels he hasn't been properly honored for his service to the Emperor and is dissatisfied in his marriage. Margaret becomes pregnant.
1545 - I will skim over all the complicated Italian politics and backstabbing. Margaret gives birth to twin sons and asks her father to give her governorship of Siena as a reward but Charles refuses.
1547 - More Italian politics. Ottavio's father is assassinated. Ottavio keeps wavering between support of the emperor and support of France. Margaret tries to keep up.
1549 - One of Margaret's sons dies. Pope Paul III dies. At this point, Margaret is scheming mostly for her own safety and security. Charles is playing the Gonzagas off against the Farneses with Margaret caught in the middle. She takes up her position as Duchess of Parma once the dispute with the Gonzagas is settled and moves her household there from Rome.
1550 - Ottavio's brother Alessandro makes a bid to become Pope but fails. Margaret is said to be reconciled to her marriage but still has little use of Ottavio and pretty much rules Parma single-handed.
1551 - Ottavio's support for France wins him the outright enmity of Margaret's father the emperor. With the emperor's support, Gonzaga besieges Parma (with Margaret there).
1552 - Margaret's presence in Parma undermines Gonzaga's siege as Charles orders him to allow supplies through. The siege ends when a French army enters Italy. Siena expels the Spanish (Imperial) garrison and allies itself with France against Charles.
1554 - The Sienese defense is broken in August. Laudomia has been noted as active in that defense, organizing women to help strengthen the city walls. With the emperor on the ascendent once more, Ottavio starts shifting sides again.
1555 - Pope Julius III dies, followed by a one-month term by Pope Marcellus II. He is succeeded by Pope Paul IV, a strong anti-Hapsburg. The Republic of Siena surrenders to the twin force of Florence and the Holy Roman Empire. Laudomia does not appear in any Sienese records after this date. Charles V decides to retire from the imperial throne in favor of his son Phillip (Margaret's half-brother). He summons Ottavio to Ghent, leaving Margaret in Parma. The decision is made that Margaret's son Alexander is to be surrendered to Phillip's guardianship (to keep Ottavio in line) and Margaret is ordered to bring him to Brussels.
1559 - Margaret has decided to remain in Brussels. In this year, she is named Governor of the Netherlands when Phillip returns to Spain.
1564 - Margaret's authority in the Netherlands is undermined when Phillip begins micro-managing her.
1566 - There are some indications that Margaret is trying to quiet religious unrest but is unable to stand up against Phillip's anti-Reformation positions. There are religious riots in the Netherlands. In this year, Charles abdicates all of his remaining titles and retires but only survives for four more years.
1567 - Margaret resigns her position in the Netherlands in favor of the Duke of Alba and returns to Italy where she is named governor of Abruzzo.
1572 - In this year, Laudomia's husband's will makes reference to a living wife. (I don't know the exact text, but evidently it doesn't mention a name. Other sources indicate that there are no historic references to Laudomia after the fall of Siena in 1555.)
1578 - Margaret's son Alexander is appointed governor-general of the Netherlands and she is appointed co-regent with him but it doesn't work out very well.
1582 - Margaret retires to Namur.
1583 - Phillip allows Margaret to return to Italy.
1586 - Margaret dies in Ortona and is buried in Piacenza. She is sixty-four. If Laudomia were still alive at this point, she would be seventy-one.
I've glossed over a great deal of Margaret's later life and career which takes of the majority of Steen's biography. She was a very very busy woman.
One of the standard failure modes for historic fiction is to cram too much of your background research into the story itself. Given the word-count limit I was working with, that wasn't a serious temptation in this case. But I thought it would be fun to share the historic framework from which I distilled my version of history.
The immediate inspiration, of course, was one of the articles I covered for the Lesbian Historic Motif Project: Eisenbichler, Konrad. “Laudomia Forteguerri Loves Margaret of Austria” in Same Sex Love and Desire Among Women in the Middle Ages (ed. By Francesca Canadé Sautman & Pamela Sheingorn), Palgrave, New York, 2001.
Eisenbichler examined the love sonnets that Laudomia wrote to Margaret, the commentary of their contemporaries on the deep emotional bond between the two women, and both their personal and society context that might shed light on the details of that emotional bond. The poems themselves are, to some extent, conventional in their imagery, unusual only in that those conventions of romantic love are addressed from one woman to another. But the strength of their emotional connection as such that Laudomia's admirer and countryman Agnolo Firenzuola invoked Plato's mythologized explanation of desire as individuals seeking their literal "other half", though Firenzuola felt the need to contrast "those who...love each other’s beauty, some in purity and holiness, as the elegant Laudomia Forteguerra loves the most illustrious Margaret of Austria, some lasciviously, as ... in Rome the great prostitute Cecilia Venetiana.”
Another contemporary noted that at their first meeting, “as soon as Laudomia saw Madama [i.e., Margaret], and was seen by her, suddenly with the most ardent flames of Love each burned for the other, and the most manifest sign of this was that they went to visit each other many times.” And on one of these visits, “they renewed most happily their sweet Loves, and today more than ever, with notes from one to the other they warmly maintain them.”
Their contemporaries seem to have raised no concerns about any possible "lascivious" angle to their love, though in a later century the scandal-monger Brantôme accused them of having a sexual relationship.
In the context of historical speculation, this seemed more than enough basis for imagining a romance between the two women. But what were the historical facts within which this romance would have played out? Historical facts should be outside any prohibition on spoilers, but on the off chance that readers feel differently, I'll put the rest of this behind a cut. Here are the intriguing lives of these women that inspired my story. In addition to Eisenbichler's article, and some basic background from Wikipedia, the bulk of my research was supplied by Charlie R. Steen's Margaret of Parma: A Life (Leiden: Brill, 2013).
1515 - Laudomia was born to one of the foremost families of Siena, the first child of her father's second marriage. She had an older brother from her father's previous marriage and at least six younger siblings.
1521 - Margaret's mother, Johanna Maria van der Gheynst, became the mistress of Emperor Charles V.
1522 - Margaret is born in Oudenaarde (modernly in Belgium).
1525 - Margaret's mother was married off and there were brief negotiations to betroth Margaret to the Pope's illegitimate son Ippolyte de' Medici. Siena undergoes a political shift when the Petrucci family lost power.
1526 - Marriage negotiations for Margaret continue. She is briefly betrothed to Ercole, the heir to Ferrara. She is regularly mentioned as being present at the court of her aunt Margaret of Austria (governer of the Netherlands) but is still being referred to as "the little bastard".
1527 - Soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire sack Rome. The Medicis are expelled from Florence.
1529 - Margaret is now betrothed to the Pope's nephew, Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence. She is formally acknowledged by her father the Emperor and officially designated "Margaret of Austria". The marriage contract is signed. As part of the agreement, Charles V will provide military support to Alessandro as Duke of Florence and Margaret will be given Ravenna as a dowry, along with other territories. The Florentine bishop Leonardo Tornabuoni travels to Brussels to meet Margaret as Alessandro's representative.
1530 - The Holy Roman Empire establishes a garrison at Siena. Margaret's aunt and guardian dies and another aunt, Mary of Hungary takes over from her, both as Margaret's guardian and as Governor of the Netherlands.
1531 - Alessandro comes to Brussels to meet Margaret. This is also the first occasion on which Margaret meets her father, Charles V. She is eight years old. The marriage is planned to take place four years later. History does not record Margaret's impression of Alessandro, but he already had a reputation for being unpredictably violent and licentious.
1533 - Laudomia may have married at this date. Alessandro's uncle, Pope Clement VII (a supporter of the Sienese republic) will surviving for another year. Margaret travels to Italy in an elaborate formal procession, being entertained by various key cities to demonstrate their support for Charles. After a formal reception at Rome, she is established in Naples until she is of age for the wedding to Alessandro.
1534 - Pope Clement dies and is succeeded by Pope Paul III who was the grandfather of Ottavio Farnese who would later become Margaret's second husband.
1535 - Laudomia's first child is born. There are rumors that Margaret's marriage to Alessandro will be cancelled and that she will be betrothed to Ottavio instead. Alessandro is involved in violent scandals and is accused of murdering his cousin.
1536 - The Florentines pressure Charles to move ahead with Margaret's marriage. A civil marriage ceremony is held just before Lent with the pledge that it will not be consummated for six months. Margaret is thirteen years old, Alessandro is twenty-seven. Margaret relocates to Florence with great pomp and ceremony. The religious marriage ceremony is held in June. Alessandro's behavior has grown even more violent and the citizens of Florence hold him in contempt.
1537 - Alessandro's cousin (and former friend) Lorenzaccio assassinates Alessandro in January, to the delight of the citizens of Florence. Margaret is placed under the protection of Cosimo de' Medici (who has been picked for the next Duke of Florence). Margaret seems to have felt some affection for Cosimo and later attempts to influence her father to choose him as her next husband. Charles orders Margaret to be removed from Florence for her own safety and she is installed at Prato, accompanied by Spanish troops. In Prato she seems to have enjoyed a rich and free lifestyle, surrounding herself with musicians and poets and going off hunting in the nearby hills for days at a time. Late in the year she has new guardians appointed who pull in the reins a bit and begin preparing her for her next marriage to Ottavio Farnese.
1538 - Margaret is married to Ottavio. Margaret has been dragging her heels and has a very poor opinion of Ottavio (who was twelve at the time). She travels from Prato to Rome for the wedding and stops in Siena for three weeks along the way. There is a confirmed meeting between her and Laudomia at this time. In Rome, Margaret charms the people, surrounds herself with cultural and scholarly figures at her own villa, and does everything she can to put off the marriage until she is tricked into accepting a ring which is considered her acceptance. She refuses to consummate the marriage until the end of the year, and even then claims that her husband is incapable of performing.
1540 - Margaret is still refusing to consummate the marriage and doesn't mind who knows it. Her father pressures her but treats the matter as ordinary political posturing. The people of Rome are sympathetic as the Farneses are becoming increasingly disliked.
1541 - By this date, Laudomia has written her sonnets to Margaret. Charles outright orders Margaret to consummate her marriage. She begins promoting Ottavio's interests though for her own purposes but holds fast on the sex thing. In an age of sexual scandal, her name is never associated with any male lover and at least one political commenter notes that she has no interest in men. Ottavio joins Charles on an expedition against the Turks in Algiers.
1543 - Charles and Ottavio return to Italy. Margaret tries to bargain for the Duchy of Milan in exchange for finally consummating her marriage but Charles has grown out of patience and refuses. Margaret finally gives in. When Charles leaves Italy, she will never see her father in person again.
1544 - Relations between the Pope and the Emperor hit a new low. Ottavio feels he hasn't been properly honored for his service to the Emperor and is dissatisfied in his marriage. Margaret becomes pregnant.
1545 - I will skim over all the complicated Italian politics and backstabbing. Margaret gives birth to twin sons and asks her father to give her governorship of Siena as a reward but Charles refuses.
1547 - More Italian politics. Ottavio's father is assassinated. Ottavio keeps wavering between support of the emperor and support of France. Margaret tries to keep up.
1549 - One of Margaret's sons dies. Pope Paul III dies. At this point, Margaret is scheming mostly for her own safety and security. Charles is playing the Gonzagas off against the Farneses with Margaret caught in the middle. She takes up her position as Duchess of Parma once the dispute with the Gonzagas is settled and moves her household there from Rome.
1550 - Ottavio's brother Alessandro makes a bid to become Pope but fails. Margaret is said to be reconciled to her marriage but still has little use of Ottavio and pretty much rules Parma single-handed.
1551 - Ottavio's support for France wins him the outright enmity of Margaret's father the emperor. With the emperor's support, Gonzaga besieges Parma (with Margaret there).
1552 - Margaret's presence in Parma undermines Gonzaga's siege as Charles orders him to allow supplies through. The siege ends when a French army enters Italy. Siena expels the Spanish (Imperial) garrison and allies itself with France against Charles.
1554 - The Sienese defense is broken in August. Laudomia has been noted as active in that defense, organizing women to help strengthen the city walls. With the emperor on the ascendent once more, Ottavio starts shifting sides again.
1555 - Pope Julius III dies, followed by a one-month term by Pope Marcellus II. He is succeeded by Pope Paul IV, a strong anti-Hapsburg. The Republic of Siena surrenders to the twin force of Florence and the Holy Roman Empire. Laudomia does not appear in any Sienese records after this date. Charles V decides to retire from the imperial throne in favor of his son Phillip (Margaret's half-brother). He summons Ottavio to Ghent, leaving Margaret in Parma. The decision is made that Margaret's son Alexander is to be surrendered to Phillip's guardianship (to keep Ottavio in line) and Margaret is ordered to bring him to Brussels.
1559 - Margaret has decided to remain in Brussels. In this year, she is named Governor of the Netherlands when Phillip returns to Spain.
1564 - Margaret's authority in the Netherlands is undermined when Phillip begins micro-managing her.
1566 - There are some indications that Margaret is trying to quiet religious unrest but is unable to stand up against Phillip's anti-Reformation positions. There are religious riots in the Netherlands. In this year, Charles abdicates all of his remaining titles and retires but only survives for four more years.
1567 - Margaret resigns her position in the Netherlands in favor of the Duke of Alba and returns to Italy where she is named governor of Abruzzo.
1572 - In this year, Laudomia's husband's will makes reference to a living wife. (I don't know the exact text, but evidently it doesn't mention a name. Other sources indicate that there are no historic references to Laudomia after the fall of Siena in 1555.)
1578 - Margaret's son Alexander is appointed governor-general of the Netherlands and she is appointed co-regent with him but it doesn't work out very well.
1582 - Margaret retires to Namur.
1583 - Phillip allows Margaret to return to Italy.
1586 - Margaret dies in Ortona and is buried in Piacenza. She is sixty-four. If Laudomia were still alive at this point, she would be seventy-one.
I've glossed over a great deal of Margaret's later life and career which takes of the majority of Steen's biography. She was a very very busy woman.
