Gertrude Courtenay, Marchioness of Exeter

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Gertrude Courtenay (* before 1504 ; † 1558 ), née Blount , was an English noblewoman and friend of Queen Catherine of Aragón . As the wife of Henry Courtenay, 1st Marquess of Exeter , the cousin of King Henry VIII and relative of the royal mistress Elizabeth Blount , Gertrude initially enjoyed the king's favor, but fell out of favor because of her support for Catherine of Aragón and her daughter Maria . Her husband was executed as a traitor in the course of the Exeter conspiracy , and Gertrude herself spent some time as a prisoner in the Tower of London . After Mary's accession to the throne as Queen of England, Gertrude was rehabilitated and brought back to court as a close confidante. Her attempts to marry her son Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon to the Queen, were unsuccessful.

Life

youth

Gertrude was the daughter of William Blount, 4th Baron Mountjoy and his first wife Elizabeth Say. Her exact date of birth is unknown, but she is believed to be Blount's oldest child. Her mother died at an unspecified time before July 21, 1506 and her father married Inez de Venegas, a lady-in-waiting from the entourage of the new Queen Catherine of Aragon, in July 1509 . He served the queen as chamberlain from 1512 . His second marriage remained childless and after Inez 'death another marriage followed with Alice Keble around 1515, from which Gertrude's half-siblings Charles and Catherine emerged. Her father's fourth and final marriage to Dorothy Gray produced Gertrude's half-siblings John, Dorothy and Mary.

Gertrudes husband Henry Courtenay (2nd from left) as a Knight of the Garter

On October 25, 1519, Gertrude married Henry Courtenay, Earl of Devon , the cousin and close friend of King Henry VIII. Possibly this prestigious marriage was Henry's way of rewarding the Blount family, as Gertrude's father was friends with the king. On top of that, only a few months before Gertrude's distant relative, Henry's mistress Elizabeth Blount , had given the king a son, Henry Fitzroy . Although Katharina von Aragón found the birth of this illegitimate son a slap in the face, relations with Elizabeth Blount's distant relatives still seem to have been good, as Gertrude quickly became her friend and confidante.

As Countess of Devon, Gertrude was highly regarded at court and took part in various court activities. At the big meeting between Henry VIII and the French King Francis I in the Camp du Drap d'Or in 1520, Gertrude was one of the ladies of honor Catherine of Aragon. In 1522 Gertrude took part in the masquerade attack on Château Vert , where she embodied the virtue of honor , together with Heinrich's sister Mary Tudor and the sisters Anne and Mary Boleyn . Her husband Henry was finally promoted to Marquess of Exeter in 1525 . From then on Gertrude was known by her courtesy title Marchioness of Exeter and thus became part of the highest nobility in the country. A year later, their only surviving son, Edward Courtenay, was born. In 1527 Gertrude was one of the ladies in a splendid masquerade for the ambassador of the French king, who was traded as a potential husband for Princess Maria . At that time the princess was eleven years old and Gertrude led her by the hand out of a specially constructed cave made of gold brocade to dance.

Support Princess Mary

The relationship between the Courtenays and Heinrich deteriorated drastically when the king fell in love with Anne Boleyn and sought to annul his marriage with Katharina. Although Henry Courtenay signed the king's petition to the Pope to dissolve the marriage for political reasons, he and Gertrude had little sympathy for Anne Boleyn's allies Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer . Gertrude developed a keen interest in the visions of the nun Elizabeth Barton and visited her in Kent in disguise . She ended up even taking her as a guest to her West Horsley home in Surrey , where the nun went into a trance. However, Barton's undisguised threats against Heinrich were undoing, and in 1534 she was executed as a traitor. In the course of the investigation against her, Gertrude was also summoned and questioned, but she got away with it.

Princess Maria , friend of Gertrude Courtenay

Gertrude stayed in contact with Princess Maria and Katharina and regularly sent gifts to the exiled queen. The Spanish ambassador Eustace Chapuys called them on September 10, 1533 "the only consolation of the queen and princess". Heinrich had meanwhile married Anne Boleyn on January 25, 1533 and on September 7 she gave birth to a daughter, Princess Elisabeth . At her baptism, Gertrude Courtenay was chosen as one of several godmothers . Although, according to her own statements, she “really didn't want anything to do with it”, Gertrude was forced to maintain the appearance “so as not to annoy the king”. This also included giving the child an expensive baptism present, in Gertrude's case three engraved, silver-plated bowls. Historian Eric Ives suspects that her appointment was a deliberate humiliation of Katharina's allies.

Together with her husband, Gertrude Chapuys provided spicy information about the royal marriage. At the beginning of 1536 they told him that Heinrich had confided to a close friend that he had doubts about Anne. Allegedly the king had said that he had "entered into this marriage because he was seduced by witchcraft and for this reason considered it null and void." The cause of Heinrich's doubts was once again the lack of a son, for the king a sign that God deprecated his marriage. Through her connections to the conservative nobility, such as Sir Nicholas Carew , Henry Pole, Lord Montagu and Sir Edward Neville, Gertrude became an influential ally of Jane Seymour . She and her friends saw in her the possibility of disempowering Anne Boleyn and reintegrating Princess Maria into the line of succession.

While Heinrich Jane Seymour was courting, Gertrude Chapuys reported regularly on the latest developments. When Jane rejected a gift of money from the king with a reference to her honor, Gertrude Chapuys was able to report: "Heinrich's love and desires increased in a wonderful way." She and her husband secured Chapuy's help in finding the king on suitable occasions for his illegality second marriage. After Anne's death, Gertrude and her friends hoped for an improvement in Maria's situation, but instead Heinrich forced his daughter to officially recognize her own illegitimacy, a hard blow to her allies. During this time, Gertrude served Heinrich and Jane Seymour at the table by bringing them water to wash their hands. In October 1537 Jane Seymour gave birth to Eduard, the long-awaited heir to the throne, and Gertrude carried him to the baptismal font for his baptism. Jane Seymour died a little later and Gertrude took over some duties at the initial funeral services instead of Maria, as the princess was too shocked by the death of her benevolent stepmother.

In disgrace

In 1538 Cromwell struck out against the conservative nobility. In early November, Henry and Gertrude Courtenay were arrested and imprisoned with their young son in the Tower of London . This was because of her alleged conspiracy that included killing Heinrich and marrying Maria off to her distant relative, Reginald Pole . They also arrested Sir Edward Neville and members of the Pole family, including Henry Pole, Lord Montagu and his elderly mother Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury . Gertrude was subjected to various interrogations in the Tower. Among other things, her connection to Elizabeth Barton came to light again, although Gertrude tried to downplay it. She denied having ever believed in Barton's prophecies and cited the then accepted weakness of the female sex. In a letter to the king dated November 30, she wrote: "I am a woman whose fragility is so great that she is easily and frivolously seduced into maladministration and gullibility."

During the interrogation she also said that her fellow prisoner Edward Neville had tried his hand at prophecy. It was considered treason to foresee the death of a monarch, which is why clairvoyance was already on the verge of treason. It is possible that Gertrude tried to protect her own family in this way, but her attempts were in vain. On December 9th, Henry Courtenay was executed for high treason. On December 31, 1538, Nicholas Carew was arrested. Allegedly a letter had been found in Gertrude's possessions branding him a co-conspirator of Henry Courtenay. He was also executed on March 8, 1539. Gertrude was imprisoned for a total of 18 months and in July 1539 her possessions were confiscated by the Crown for treason. Her son Edward was imprisoned in the Tower until he was 27 years old.

Under Maria I.

Gertrude's son Edward Courtenay from Sarah Malden, Countess of Essex

Not much is known about Gertrude's life after her release from the Tower. It was only when Princess Maria succeeded her brother Eduard to the throne that Gertrude reappeared in official records and in public life. When Mary triumphantly entered London on August 3, 1553, Gertrude rode in her entourage with Princess Elisabeth and Elizabeth Howard, Duchess of Norfolk.

Arriving at the Tower, Gertrude witnessed how the Queen gave her now adult son Edward Courtenay freedom by ceremonially kissing him and declaring him, along with other prisoners, "her prisoners". Ten days later, mother and son attended a Catholic service together at St. Paul's Cross , an open-air pulpit where St Paul's Cathedral is now. However, a tumult broke out in the crowd when the chaplain Gilbert Bourne lamented Edmund Bonner's years of imprisonment, which Bonner had suffered as a result of a church service there. When the crowd got violent, Gertrude, her son Edward and Bonner took Bourne to safety from the mob.

She was still one of Mary's closest friends and sometimes slept in the same bed as her, a common practice of the day and a sign of Mary's trust. Her influence on the Queen was so well known that Jane Dudley, wife of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland , asked Lady Anne Paget to speak to Gertrude after her husband's arrest. She hoped Gertrude could temper the queen, but in vain. However, there is evidence that Gertrude played a role in saving the life of William Parr, brother of the late Queen Catherine Parr and Marquess of Northampton , who supported Dudley. At Mary's coronation, Gertrude held an honorary position and rode next to the Queen's sedan chair, accompanied by Elizabeth Howard and the wives of the 19th Earl of Arundel and Sir William Paulet.

After Maria was crowned, the question of a potential husband quickly arose for her. In addition to the Spanish Prince Philip , Edward Courtenay was also considered a very promising candidate and Gertrude supported her son as much as possible. The French ambassador De Noailles even heard rumors that Gertrude had arranged a long meeting with Courtenay and the Queen in her chamber, but they turned out to be false. When it became clear that Maria was considering marrying Philipp, Gertrude tried to secure the support of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke for herself and her son . But Maria could not be changed and despite all opposition married Philip on July 25, 1554. Edward Courtenay, frustrated in his ambitions, got involved in the Wyatt conspiracy , whereupon he was imprisoned again in February 1554 and his mother was banished from court.

Last years and death

It was not until 1555 that Gertrude was allowed to return to court and serve the Queen again in the Privy Chamber. Her son was meanwhile free again and set off on a trip to the continent. Mother and son were in correspondence and five letters from Gertrude to him have survived. In them she admonishes her son to avoid sin and to write to her more often. She also mentions several lucrative deals that she closed and from which Edward should benefit “if you behave towards me as God and natural disposition demand”. In her last letter to him on November 8, 1555, Gertrude complained of colic and kidney stones and was afraid of not seeing Edward's return.

On September 18, 1556, Edward died under mysterious circumstances in Padua . On September 25th, Gertrude wrote her will. In it she decreed that a funeral song and several masses should take place at her funeral. Alms should also be given to the poor to pray for their souls and those of their husbands. She died only a little later. Her executor was Anthony Harvey, who had served Henry Courtenay. She was buried in Wimborne Minster , where her tomb can still be visited today.

progeny

The marriage to Henry Courtenay had two children:

literature

  • JPD Cooper: Courtenay, Gertrude, marchioness of Exeter (d.1558) . In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press 2004. Online Edition January 2008

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Person Sheet Gertrude Blount
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n J. PD Cooper: Courtenay, Gertrude, marchioness of Exeter (d. 1558) . In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press 2004. Online Edition January 2008, accessed April 1, 2011
  3. ^ Charles Mosley: Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage: 107th Edition . Burke's Peerage & Gentry 2003, Volume 1, Page 1123
  4. ↑ David Starkey: Six Wives. The Queens of Henry VIII. 2004 HarperCollins Perennial, p. 266
  5. ^ HFM Prescott: Mary Tudor. The Spanish Tudor. Phoenix 2003, p. 37
  6. ^ A b Eric Ives: The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn. 'The Most Happy'. Blackwell Publishing, Malden 2009, p. 185
  7. ^ A b David Starkey: Six Wives. The Queens of Henry VIII. 2004 HarperCollins Perennial, p. 551
  8. ↑ David Starkey: Six Wives. The Queens of Henry VIII. 2004 HarperCollins Perennial, p. 588
  9. ↑ David Starkey: Six Wives. The Queens of Henry VIII. 2004 HarperCollins Perennial, p. 590
  10. ↑ Eric Ives: The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn. 'The Most Happy'. Blackwell Publishing, Malden 2009, p. 304
  11. ^ HFM Prescott: Mary Tudor. The Spanish Tudor. Phoenix 2003, p. 107
  12. ^ Anna Whitelock: Mary Tudor. England's first queen. Bloomsbury 2010, p. 95
  13. ↑ Alasdair Hawkyard: Neville, Sir Edward (. B in or before 1482 d 1538th). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press 2004. Online Edition January 2008, accessed April 1, 2011
  14. ^ Anna Whitelock: Mary Tudor. England's first queen. Bloomsbury 2010, p. 100
  15. ↑ Linda Porter: Mary Tudor: The First Queen . Piatkus, September 2010, p. 272 .
  16. ^ Anna Whitelock: Mary Tudor. England's first queen. Bloomsbury 2010, p. 180
  17. ^ HFM Prescott: Mary Tudor. The Spanish Tudor. Phoenix 2003, p. 255
  18. ^ HFM Prescott: Mary Tudor. The Spanish Tudor. Phoenix 2003, p. 241
  19. ↑ Eric Ives: Lady Jane Gray: A Tudor Mystery. Wiley-Blackwell 2009, p. 244
  20. ^ Anna Whitelock: Mary Tudor. England's first queen. Bloomsbury 2010, p. 193
  21. ^ HFM Prescott: Mary Tudor. The Spanish Tudor. Phoenix 2003, p. 267
  22. ^ HFM Prescott: Mary Tudor. The Spanish Tudor. Phoenix 2003, p. 272
  23. ^ HFM Prescott: Mary Tudor. The Spanish Tudor. Phoenix 2003, p. 279
  24. ^ Mary Anne Everett Wood: Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies of Great Britain. Volume 3 . Henry Colburn 1846, p. 304
  25. ^ Mary Anne Everett Wood: Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies of Great Britain. Volume 3 . Henry Colburn 1846, p. 307
  26. ^ Mary Anne Everett Wood: Letters of Royal and Illustrious Ladies of Great Britain. Volume 3 . Henry Colburn 1846, pp. 308-309
  27. ↑ Gertrude's tomb on Find a Grave
personal data
SURNAME Courtenay, Gertrude
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Blount, Gertrude; Courtenay, Gertrude, Marchioness of Exeter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English nobles
DATE OF BIRTH before 1504
DATE OF DEATH 1558