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    Mary of Hungary and Music PatronageAuthor(s): Glenda Goss ThompsonSource: The Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Winter, 1984), pp. 401-418Published by: The Sixteenth Century Journal

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    The Sixteenth Century Journal 401

    XV, No. 4,1984

    Mary

    of

    Hungary and Music Patronage

    Glenda Goss Thompson*

    The

    University of Georgia

    When the Venetian

    ambassador

    to

    the court

    of

    Charles

    V wrote the

    final report of his mission in 1546, he noted two particular features regar-

    ding the sector

    of

    Charles's empire known as les pays de

    pardeca:

    the hun-

    ting and the music, which he described as "sounding with supreme delight."'

    Both of these

    activities were

    flourishing

    under the

    aegis

    of

    Charles's

    sister

    Mary,

    who

    governed

    as

    regent

    of

    the Netherlands

    from

    1531 until

    1556.

    Called

    Mary

    of

    Hungary by

    reason of her

    marriage

    to

    Louis

    (Lajos)

    II of

    Hungary

    (1506-1526), Mary was well

    known

    among contemporaries

    for

    her

    energetic riding and hunting. She was also known

    to

    prefer music above the

    other arts. Even

    e

    cursory examination of Mary's court records shows

    numerous

    payments involving musicians, musical instruments, and musical

    performances.

    Yet the

    position

    that music

    occupied at Mary's

    court

    in

    Brussels and its significance have been very imperfectly understood up until

    now. Early

    assessments ranged from vague allusions to a sparkling musical

    culture, such as that

    reported by

    the

    Venetian ambassador,

    to

    erroneous

    convictions

    about the small size

    and relative neglect

    of the

    musical

    establishment. Today, histories

    of

    music give Mary

    of

    Hungray only pass-

    ing mention if they acknowledge her at all.2 On the other hand, histories of

    a

    political

    and social nature

    recognize Mary's

    role

    in

    the Netherlands but

    with

    little

    or

    no

    reference

    to

    her

    cultivation

    of

    music. Characteristic are

    Henri Pirenne's remarks simply that Mary appreciated music and that she

    sponsored

    festivities

    (including music)

    at her elaborate chateaux built

    at

    *A Fellowship

    from

    the American

    Association

    of University

    Women

    and a University

    of

    Georgia

    Research Foundation

    Travel Grant provided

    financial

    support

    for research

    in

    Vienna,

    Lille,

    and Brussels.

    The author

    is

    particularly

    indebted

    to Professor Jean

    Motat

    for

    numerous

    insights and suggestions

    offered

    during

    the preparation

    of this study.

    1'E

    governatrice

    generale

    di tutti quei paesi

    la

    reginaMaria,

    donna

    che ha dell'uomo

    assai,

    perche provvede alle cose della guerra, e di esse, e di fortezze, e di tutte le cose di stato dice

    l'opinion

    sna. Ha fama

    d'essere castissima

    donna: cavalca

    eccellentemente:

    e la caccia e

    la

    musica

    sono

    li suoi sommi

    diletti."

    Bernardo

    Navagero,

    Relazione,

    in vol.

    1

    of

    Relazioni

    degli

    Ambasciatori

    Veneti

    al Senato,

    ed. Eugenio

    Alberi (Florence, 1830), p.

    299.

    Both terms

    for

    Mary's

    country, les

    pays

    de

    pardeca

    and

    les

    pays

    d'embas,

    are found

    in the court

    documents

    described

    below.

    2Mary

    of

    Hungary

    does

    not

    appear

    in the standard

    music

    dictionary,

    The New

    Grove

    Dic-

    tionary of Music

    and

    Musicians,

    ed.

    Stanley Sadie

    (London:

    Macmillan,

    1980). There are

    brief

    references

    to

    her in the standard

    music history

    of the

    era, Music

    in the

    Renaissance,

    by

    Gustave

    Reese (New

    York:

    Norton,

    1959), pp.

    299, 303,

    340, 719,

    722-725.

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    402 The Sixteenth

    CenturyJournal

    Binche and Mariemont.3 Pirenne, however, had the considerable insight

    to

    add that

    the

    regent surrounded herself

    with such

    splendor as

    a means of

    enhancing the power that Charles V had put

    into

    her hands.

    As a patroness

    of

    music Mary could

    well

    furnish an example superior

    to many

    in

    the sixteenth century. Called by Erasmus "the woman

    most

    widely praised of her time,"4 Mary was musically literate; during her

    lifetime she travelled widely; for twenty-five years she governed in an area

    of exceptional musical talent; and she functioned as part of Europe's

    most

    widespread and enduring political organization. Mary

    of

    Hungary thus

    oc-

    cupied an unusually advantageous position from which

    to

    encourage and

    influence the art of music.

    The aim of this article is to examine the records from Mary of

    Hungary's regency

    in

    order

    to find

    out just

    how

    extensive her patronage of

    music really was.

    If

    Mary

    did

    take appreciable measures

    to

    cultivate this

    art

    in the Netherlands, then musicologists need to account for her actions and

    their musical results. Furthermore, if music patronage is demonstrated

    to

    have had a significant place

    in

    this regency, then the question of why

    Mary

    of Hungary cultivated music might profitably be addressed. While Mary

    of

    Hungary may have

    been

    a musician at heart, there may also have been

    other factors to contribute to her musical enthusiasm. Identifying these fac-

    tors might be quite as illuminating to an understanding of sixteenth-century

    values as

    to

    the business of Renaissance music making.

    Current State

    of

    Research

    Mary

    of

    Hungary

    is

    not

    a

    figure

    unknown

    to

    historians. A number

    of

    biographies have depicted Mary

    as the devoted

    supporter

    of her

    brother

    and a competent ruler in the Netherlands5However, aside from the abun-

    3Histoire de Belgique, 3. ed. (Brussels: Maurice-Lamertin, 1923), III: 105-106.

    4Quoted by Jozef Duverger,

    "Marie

    de Hongrie, Gouvernante des Pays-Bas, et la

    Renaissance," Actes du XXXIIe Congres International d'Histoire de L'Art. Budapest 1969

    I

    (1972): 716.

    5The only biography

    in

    English is by Jane de Iongh, Mary of Hungary, Second Regent of

    the Netherlands, trans. M. D. Herter

    Norton

    (New York: Norton, 1958). Others include

    Ghislaine

    de

    Boom,

    Marie de

    Hongrie (Brussels: La Renaissance du Livre, 1956): Wilhelm

    Strache, "Die Anfange der Konigin Marie

    von

    Ungarn, spateren Statthalterin Karls V.

    in

    den

    Niederlanden" (Ph.D. dissertation, University

    of

    Gottingen, 1940); Theodore Ortvay, Maria II

    Lajos jagya kiraly neje (Budapest, 1914); and Theodore Juste, Les Pays-Bas sous Charles-

    Quint,

    Vie

    de

    Marie

    de

    Hongrie (Brussels, Decq. 1855),

    each with

    additional

    bibliography.

    Of

    recent work

    on

    Mary, there is the dissertation of Gernot Heiss, "Konigin Maria von Ungarn

    und

    Bohmen (1505-1558),

    Ihr

    Leben

    und

    ihre

    wirtschaftlichen Interessen

    in

    Osterreich, Ungarn

    und

    Bohmen" (University

    of

    Vienna, 1971)

    and the same

    author's

    "Politik

    und Ratgeber

    der

    Konigin

    Maria von

    Ungarn

    in

    den Jahren 1521-1532," Mitteilungen

    des

    Instituts

    fuir

    Oster-

    reichische Geschichtsforschung 82 (1974): 119-180; and "Die ungarischen, bohmischen und

    osterreichischen Besitzungen der Konigin Maria (1505-1558)," Mitteilungen der Oster-

    reichischen Staatsarchiv 27 (1974): 61-100; 29 (1976): 52-121.

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    Mary of Hungary

    & Music

    Patronage

    403

    dant but widely

    scattered

    and inadequately

    documented information

    sup-

    plied

    by Edmond

    van der Straeten

    in La Musique

    aux Pays-Bas avant

    le

    XIXe

    sieclej

    the first scholar to recognize and acknowledge Mary's role in

    the

    history of music

    was Emile

    Haraszti.7 Haraszti

    showed

    that,

    beginning

    with

    her musical

    training

    in the Netherlands,

    Mary

    revealed

    a personal ac-

    quaintanceship

    with

    music.

    As

    a

    young

    bride

    in

    Buda, Mary

    was

    surround-

    ed

    with

    fine

    musicians. Her

    husband Louis played

    the lute,

    and the young

    composer Thomas

    Stoltzer set

    various

    texts at her

    request. On

    her return to

    Brussels

    in

    1531, Mary began

    actively

    to

    cultivate

    music. Haraszti

    cited re-

    quests

    for musicians

    from

    her brothers Ferdinand

    and

    Charles,

    which Mary

    fulfilled;

    he mentioned Rogier

    Pathie

    as one

    of

    her favorite musicians

    who

    was

    most renowned

    for

    having

    organized

    the

    Fetes

    de Binche;

    and he cited

    musical

    dedications

    to

    Mary: a canon

    by

    Pietre Maessens,

    another

    by

    Benedictus

    Appenzeller,

    a collection

    of chansons

    by the printer

    Tielman

    Susato.

    Finally,

    he described her marvelous

    collection

    of

    instruments and

    promised

    to

    make an

    inventory

    available

    in a critical

    edition, although

    he

    was

    apparently

    unable

    to

    complete

    this

    task.

    Despite an

    excellent beginning

    Haraszti did

    not

    make any mention

    of

    Mary's chapel

    organization;

    of musicians other than Pathie

    or

    Appenzeller

    employed or supported by the court; of music and its significance at various

    festivals,

    including

    the

    Fetes

    de

    Binche;

    nor

    of the

    political and

    historical

    ef-

    fects

    of

    Mary's patronage.

    Some information

    on

    the

    chapel

    and

    court has

    since

    been

    supplied by

    two

    dissertations

    and

    on

    the

    Fetes

    de Binche by

    various

    articles.8

    The

    principal

    documents

    for

    the

    present

    study

    are

    the accounts

    from

    the

    Brussels court preserved

    at

    Lille

    in

    the

    Archives

    departementales

    du

    Nord, hereafter

    designated

    AN. Mary's

    Pennickmaistre, Jehan

    de

    Gyn,

    recorded the daily expenditures of various sections of the household on

    sheets known as

    Etats

    journaliers

    de l'hotel9, listing

    the

    individuals

    who

    6In

    eight volumes

    bound

    as

    four.

    With

    a

    new

    introduction

    by

    Edward

    E.

    Lowinsky

    (1867-

    1888);

    reprint,

    New

    York: Dover,

    1969).

    7"Marie

    de Hongrie

    et

    son

    Ungarescha,"

    Revue

    de

    musicologie

    10-11

    (1929-1930):

    176-194.

    'Glenda

    G.

    Thompson,

    "Benedictus

    Appenzeller:

    Mattre

    de

    la

    Chapelle

    to

    Mary

    of

    Hungary

    and

    Chansonniert"

    Ph.D. dissertation,

    University

    of

    North Carolina

    at

    Chapel

    Hill,

    1975)

    and

    Ignace

    Bossuyt,

    "Alexander

    Utendal (ca. 1534/1545-1581)"

    (Ph.D.

    dissertation,

    The

    Catholic

    University

    at

    Louvain,

    1978).

    On

    the

    Fetes

    de

    Binche,

    see

    the

    essays

    by

    Daniel

    Devoto

    "Folklore et politique au Chateau Thnebreux," and Daniel Heartz, "Un Divertissement de

    palais

    pour

    Charles-Quint

    a

    Binche,"

    both

    in Fetes

    et

    C6r6monies

    au

    temps

    de

    Charles-Quint,

    vol.

    2 of

    Les

    Fetes

    de

    la

    Renaissance

    (Paris:

    Editions

    du

    Centre

    National

    de

    la Recherche

    Scien-

    tifique,

    1960).

    pp.

    311-342.

    Further

    descriptions

    and

    iconographical

    evidence

    are

    in Albert

    Van

    de

    Put,

    "Two

    Drawings

    of the

    Fetes

    at

    Binche

    for

    Charles

    V

    and

    Philip

    (II),"

    Journal

    of

    the

    Warburg

    and

    Courtauld

    Institutes

    3

    (1939-1940):

    49-55,

    and

    Robert

    Wangermee,

    La

    Musique

    Flamande

    dans

    la soci6t6

    des

    XVe

    et XVIe

    Siecles

    (Brussels:

    Editions

    Arcade,

    1966),

    pp.

    155-

    158.

    9The

    lists

    pertinent

    to

    this study

    are

    B.

    3479,

    B. 3481,

    B.

    3484,

    B. 3488,

    B. 3491,

    and

    B.

    20154.

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    404 The Sixteenth

    Century Journal

    served

    in

    each section

    of the household together

    with

    their daily wages. De

    Gyn also

    made a

    yearly

    account

    of

    the total receipts

    and

    expenses

    of his of-

    fice. These Comptes de Jehan de Gyn, with descriptive entries for wages,

    pensions, travels, and ordinary and extraordinary

    expenses, cover the years

    1532

    thorugh

    1540

    with

    the exception

    of the

    lost

    record of 1534

    (AN, B.

    3355-3362). Although

    the eight surviving Comptes

    have been inventoried

    in

    summary fashion,"0

    these documents have never been systematically

    in-

    vestigated, either for historical

    or for

    musicological

    purposes. Mary

    herself

    should be given

    considerable credit

    for the

    care

    with which records were

    kept,

    for she insisted

    on

    making copies

    of most

    correspondence,

    and she

    preserved drafts even

    from her Hungarian years." As the principal source

    for this study, de Gyn's

    Comptes, together with the Etats journaliers,

    various letters,

    and other records, provide plentiful

    details

    for

    an investiga-

    tion of

    Mary

    of

    Hungary's

    patronage of music.

    The

    Patroness

    Since character and musical training may

    well

    afford considerable

    in-

    sight

    into

    an

    individual's actions,

    it

    seems profitable

    to

    consider

    Mary's per-

    sonality and background

    here.'2

    It

    will

    be readily appreciated that

    throughout her life Mary of Hungary exhibited both loyalty and devotion

    to

    the Habsburg family

    and its policies. It is also

    apparent that from her

    earliest

    years

    music

    was a consistent feature

    of

    the courts where she lived,

    in

    the Netherlands,

    in

    Austria,

    in

    Hungary. As

    the daughter of Philip the

    Handsome and his queen,

    Joanna, Mary was the Habsburg offspring of

    parents

    who

    each

    encouraged

    music

    to

    impressive

    degrees

    at their courts

    in

    Spain

    and the

    Netherlands.'3

    Essentially

    an

    orphan, however, owing

    to

    the

    early

    death

    of her

    father and the illness

    of her

    mother, Mary

    was

    raised

    at

    Malines by her aunt, Marguerite of Austria. Herself musically and literarily

    gifted, Marguerite attended

    to

    Mary's musical

    education from the child's

    earliest

    years. Marguerite's

    organist,

    Henri

    Bredemers, taught Mary,

    her

    sisters,

    and their brother,

    the

    future

    emperor,

    the

    art

    of

    playing keyboard

    instruments

    from the

    time Mary was three

    or

    four. As were her sisters,

    '0L'Abb6 Dehaisnes et

    Jules

    Finot,

    Inventaire

    sommaire des

    Archives

    departementales

    anterieures

    a'

    1790. Nord.

    Archives Civiles.

    Serie

    B

    (Lille: L.

    Danel,

    1899),

    VII. In

    progress

    by

    this

    author

    is a complete

    index

    of these eight

    accounts,

    alphabetizing

    persons,

    occupations, and

    cities.

    "For this information

    the

    author

    is

    indebted

    to

    the

    communications

    of

    Christiane

    Thomas

    of

    the

    Haus-,

    Hof- u.

    Staatsarchiv in

    Vienna.

    Her

    work with

    Heide

    Stratenwerth

    reveals

    Mary's

    substantial interest in

    record

    keeping.

    Details will

    appear in

    Editionskritische

    Bemerkungenfor vol.

    3

    of

    the

    Familienkorrespondenz

    to

    be

    published.

    "2Theacts of this

    biographical

    summary

    are

    drawn

    from

    the

    sources cited above and from

    the

    documents of

    Mary's

    court.

    "3For

    details,

    see

    G.

    van

    Doorslaer,

    "La

    Chapelle musicale

    de

    Philippe

    le

    Beau,"

    Revue

    beige

    d'Archeologie

    et

    d'Histoire

    de lArt

    4

    (1934):

    21-57;

    139-165;

    and

    Mary

    Kay Duggan,

    "Queen

    Joannaand her

    Musicians,"Musica

    Disciplina 30

    (1976):

    74-92.

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    Mary of Hungary

    & Music Patronage 405

    Plate 1. Hans

    Maler,

    Mary

    of

    Hungary

    (1520). London,

    Society

    of Anti-

    quaries.

    Mary

    was

    destined

    for

    a

    political

    marriage. By

    the

    age

    of

    six

    months

    Mary

    had been

    betrothed

    by

    her

    optimistic grandfather

    Maximilian

    to

    a child

    just

    conceived. Born Louis

    LI,

    this

    child was heir

    to

    the throne

    of

    Hungary.

    In

    preparation

    for

    her

    marriage Mary

    left the Netherlands

    at

    the

    age

    of

    eight

    to

    reside

    in

    Austria. This interlude was an

    important

    time in her

    young

    life,

    f

    or

    the

    study

    of

    Latin and

    for

    a continuation

    of

    her musical

    experiences. Mary

    now had

    frequent

    contact with her

    music-loving grandfather,

    Maximilian,

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    406

    The

    Sixteenth

    Century

    Journal

    whose predilection

    for

    musical pageantry is well documented both by

    iconographical and written evidence."4There was also musical instruction.

    At the Nebenstaat established for Mary and her future sister-in-law Anna of

    Hungary at Maximilian's court in Innsbruck, the organist Hans Sattler was

    paid

    to

    purchase a keyboard instrument for the princesses and give them

    lessons."5 In 1515, when Mary was ten, her engagement to Louis was

    celebrated in Vienna. As so often in Mary's life, musical events were inter-

    woven with significant personal and political ones. On this glittering occa-

    sion, the celebration of a double engagement, Mary's

    to

    Louis and her

    brother Ferdinand's

    to

    Anna, the famous organist Paul Hofhaimer was also

    knighted by the Hungarian king, Wladislaus II.

    The years of Mary's life as Louis' queen were among the happiest ones

    she ever

    knew, although Mary

    was

    not

    liked

    by

    the

    Hungarians.

    Her

    new

    subjects

    felt

    she enjoyed music and dancing, hunting

    and

    banqueting far

    too

    much and successfully encouraged Louis and his courtiers

    to

    enjoy

    themselves likewise. Yet even at her young age Mary revealed her musical

    tastes and training to be exemplary for the time. It was she who recom-

    mended that Thomas Stoltzer be named chapelmaster at the Hungarian

    court.'6 It was Mary again who suggested that Stoltzer give musical settings

    to four of Luther's translations of psalms, 12, 13, 37, and 86, which are

    counted

    among

    the

    composer's greatest works.

    The happiness

    in

    Hungary

    all

    too

    soon

    ended

    in

    tragedy. At

    the

    threat

    of a Turkish invasion, Louis led his poorly prepared troops into battle

    (1526). In

    the rout that

    followed, known

    as the Battle

    of

    Mohaks,

    Louis

    had

    to

    flee-only

    to

    die ingloriously when

    his horse

    slipped and

    crushed

    him in

    the mud of the stream Csele. With the Turks now menacing Buda, Mary,

    too, was

    forced

    to

    depart

    in

    haste,

    an

    escape

    which she

    accomplished

    with

    as much dignity as possible. Pretending to be riding off on one of her fre-

    quent hunting expeditions,

    the

    young queen simply

    continued

    on

    up

    the

    Danube.

    In the

    following years Mary

    worked

    to

    secure

    the

    Hungarian

    throne

    for

    her brother Ferdinand. Then, in 1530, Marguerite of Austria died. Soon

    Charles,

    now the

    Holy

    Roman

    Emperor, suggested

    to

    his sister

    Mary

    that

    she

    assume

    the

    regency

    of

    the

    Netherlands.

    Mary

    was

    very

    reluctant

    "to

    "4See

    Louise E.

    Cuyler,

    The

    Emperor

    Maximilian I and

    Music

    (London: Oxford

    University

    Press, 1973).

    "5Walter

    enn, Musik

    und

    Theater am

    Hof zu

    Innsbruck,

    Geschichte

    der

    Hofkapelle

    vom

    vom

    15.

    Jahrhundert

    bis zu

    deren

    Auflosung im

    Jahre

    1748

    (Innsbruck:

    Osterreichische

    Verlagsanstalt,

    1954), pp.

    46-47.

    16Lothar

    Hoffmann-Erbrecht,

    Thomas

    Stoltzer,

    Leben und

    Schaffen (Kassel:

    Hinnenthal,

    1964),

    pp.

    26ff.

    Haraszti,

    in

    his

    article

    Marie de

    Hongrie,"

    had also

    placed the

    great

    Netherlands

    composer

    Adriaen

    Willaert at

    the Hungarian

    court

    during

    Mary's

    years as

    queen.

    Although

    Willaert did

    travel in

    Hungary

    and

    probably

    visited

    the

    court,

    it

    is clear

    now

    that he

    was

    not

    chapelmaster

    to

    this court nor

    even

    a visitor

    during

    Mary's sojourn. For

    details, see

    The

    New

    Grove, s.v.

    Willaert.

    "

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    Mary of Hungary

    &Music

    Patronage

    407

    place the rope around

    her

    neck," as

    she viewed the task.'7

    Yet born

    a

    Habsburg, Mary

    must have

    known that she was destined

    for political mar-

    riage or family service in exchange for some measure of worldly security.

    Ultimately,

    she

    agreed

    to Charles'sproposal.

    As regent,

    Mary of Hungary distinguished

    her

    rule

    from

    Marguerite

    of

    Austria's at

    the outset. She established

    her household

    in Brussels rather

    than

    in Marguerite's

    apartmentsat

    Malines, allegedly

    because

    of

    the

    proximity

    of

    the Foret

    de Soignes, where

    boar and bird

    abounded. Much space

    in the

    ac-

    counts is taken up with

    matters

    of

    the

    hunt: payments

    to

    hunters,

    to

    fellows

    for bringing game

    back

    to the court,

    for

    repair

    of hunting equipment,

    for

    medical attention

    after the hunting

    dogs

    had injuredsome poor

    peasant,

    for

    domestic animals

    to

    replace

    those

    the

    dogs

    had killed. Mary

    gained public

    renown

    for her intense love

    of a sport

    beloved also of her

    grandparents.

    Clement Marot

    called her "chaste Diane,

    ennemye d'oyseuse,

    "18 and

    another contemporary

    vividly

    described both

    the

    skill and

    the

    character

    of

    the huntress:

    She was,

    even

    in that

    age

    of

    manly women,

    remarkable

    for

    her intrepid

    spirit and her iron frame

    ....

    Hunting

    and hawking

    she

    loved

    like

    Mary

    of Burgundy,

    and her horsemanship

    must

    have delighted the knightly heart of her grandsire Maximilian.

    Not

    only

    could

    she

    bring

    down her deer with unerring aim,

    but

    taking

    up her sleeves, and

    drawing

    her knife, she would

    cut the

    animal's

    throat

    and

    rip

    up its belly

    in

    as good

    style

    of the best of

    the

    royal

    oresters

    ...19

    The

    image

    of

    strong

    character described

    in

    this account

    was discerned

    by

    Hans Maler

    when he

    painted

    Mary

    as a mere girl

    of

    fourteen.

    As the

    years passed

    and

    their vicissitudes took

    a

    toll

    on

    her

    femininity, Mary, pic-

    tured later on the dedication page of a chanson anthology printed in Ant-

    werp, came

    to

    have

    the

    hard look

    of

    an

    authoritative ruler.20

    The

    enjoyment

    of

    the hunt is

    one

    of

    the

    very

    few

    personal

    things

    we

    know about

    Mary

    of

    Hungary, a

    woman

    who lived

    a

    life of devotion

    to

    her

    family.

    As

    regent

    for

    Charles, Mary

    was

    to

    govern

    along

    with three

    coun-

    cils, State, Privy,

    and

    Finance,

    which the

    emperor

    had newly

    established

    with her

    coming

    in

    1531. Beginning just

    at

    the time when Charles

    was

    "7[L'Empereur]era comme bon S. et pere, exsepte

    qu'il m'a mis la corde

    au

    col que

    me

    suis

    acordee a

    acsepter

    la serge...

    .,"

    Mary

    to

    Ferdinand,

    Ghent, May 5, 1531,

    Die

    Korrespondenze

    Ferdinands

    I,

    vol. 3

    of Familienkorrespondenz

    1531

    u. 1532,

    ed. by Herwig

    Wolfram

    and

    Christiane

    Thomas

    (Vienna: Holzhausen,

    1973), p.

    121.

    18"Clement

    Marot a la

    Royne

    de

    Hongrie

    venue en France,"

    Oeuvres

    lyriques,

    ed.

    C.

    A.

    Mayer (London:

    The

    Athlone Press, 1964),

    p. 295,

    line

    3.

    19Juste,Vie

    de

    Marie de

    Hongrie,

    pp.

    37-38.

    20See

    plates

    1 and 2.

    The various

    portraits

    of Mary

    are discussed by

    Gustav

    GlIck,

    Bildnisse

    aus

    dem

    Hause

    Habsburg,"

    Jahrbuch

    der Kunsthistorischen

    SammIungen

    in

    Wien,

    NF 8

    (1934):

    173-196.

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    408

    The

    Sixteenth Century Journal

    relieved of the last of his youthful

    ministers, Mary's rule was to be

    distinguished further from Marguerite's

    by its commitment

    to

    carrying

    out

    the emperor's desires and demands. Now the three councils were collateral,

    and

    Mary's powers

    of

    decision were severely limited. Charles's primary

    concern was for the preservation of his empire, and

    to

    this end he left Mary

    with a double mandate:

    to

    reinforce

    sovereign authority and

    to

    combat

    the

    Reform. As

    Pirenne

    noted,

    the

    political

    and religious unity

    to

    be achieved

    by

    these

    separate

    but

    inter-related

    goals would equally benefit the Habsburg

    ruler.21

    Governing through

    a

    tumultuous

    period

    in

    the history

    of the

    Netherlands, Mary

    worked tirelessly

    to

    preserve the national unity

    of the

    country

    and the

    imperial unity

    of

    her brother's domains. She managed

    to

    preserve freedom

    of

    the seas

    for Dutch shipping in a crisis precipitated by

    Christian

    of

    Denmark.

    In

    1538-1540,

    she

    tried, although unsuccessfully,

    to

    negotiate with the people

    of

    Ghent, who wanted

    to

    maintain their

    own

    economic

    individuality

    in

    the face

    of

    imperial capitalism. It

    was she more

    than any other single individual who crafted the Augsburg Transaction

    in

    1548, an attempt

    to

    strengthen

    the bonds of unity between the German em-

    pire and the Netherlands. Nor did

    she back away

    from

    matching wits and

    military might with the aggressor against the empire, Francis I. On one oc-

    casion she

    even

    prepared

    to

    go

    to

    the

    front

    lines herself

    in

    defensive armor,

    an

    incident

    that caused an

    admiring ambassador

    to

    call

    her the most com-

    bative woman

    he

    had

    ever

    met.

    Mary

    of

    Hungary

    also worked

    for

    the

    Habsburg goal

    of

    religious

    unity.

    She

    put

    aside

    an

    apparent sympathy

    for

    the

    Reformation,

    one serious

    enough

    to

    cause

    Pope

    Paul

    III

    to

    complain

    to

    the

    emperor,

    to

    carry

    out the

    tortures and executions mandated

    by her brother's placards against

    heresy.22 In the midst of these concerns Mary responded willingly to her

    brothers'

    calls

    for

    assistance

    in

    building

    their own musical establishments.

    Characteristic

    of the

    many requests

    was Ferdinand's

    letter

    addressed

    to

    Mary

    in

    1542

    asking

    for

    un honneste homme

    to

    assist

    his

    aging

    kapellmeister,

    Arnold

    von

    Bruck.23

    Mary

    recommended Pietre Maessens

    for

    the

    position, a composer whose

    canon, Salve suprema trinitas, was later

    dedicated

    to

    the regent.

    Three

    years

    earlier Charles had written

    that the

    organist sent

    to

    his court by Mary

    had died, "which is a pity for he

    was

    skillful in his art and very suitable in my chapel."24He went on to ask help

    in

    finding

    a

    replacement.

    2"Histoire II: 107-108.

    22DavidP. Daniel,

    to

    whose

    encouragement

    and

    suggestions

    the

    present

    article

    is much

    in-

    debted, has

    analyzed Mary's Lutheran sympathies

    in

    "The

    Lutheran Reformation

    in

    Slovakia"

    (Ph.D. dissertation, The

    Pennsylvania State

    University,

    1972), pp. 122-143.

    23TheNew Grove, s.v.

    "Maessens."

    24Vienna,

    Haus-, Hof-,

    und Staatsarchiv, Belgien PA

    neue 29 (Alt 36),

    October 15,

    1539.

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    Mary of Hungary & Music Patronage 409

    Mary's

    various

    efforts

    were such

    that,

    at

    her

    death,

    the

    archbishop

    delivering

    the funeral sermon made

    particular

    note of her

    remarkable

    energy:

    Truly I know

    of

    no

    one

    in

    the world

    in

    whom laziness found less

    welcome,

    and

    who,

    in

    organizing

    her

    time, gave

    less

    to

    drinking,

    eating, sleeping, and relaxing than she.25

    If

    Jehan

    de

    Gyn's Comptes

    make

    frequent

    reference

    to

    medicines and

    to

    doc-

    tors

    to

    treat the regent's tremblementde coeur, we can sympathize with the

    despondency

    to

    which she was often

    prey, given

    her devotion

    to

    her

    tasks

    and

    Charles's

    demands

    to

    do more

    than

    the

    possible.26

    Music at the Court of Mary of Hungary

    Mary's

    court was

    clearly a

    world

    dominated

    by imperial concerns.

    Yet

    from numerous payments in the

    accounts and

    from the

    impressions left

    on

    her contemporaries,

    it

    is also evident that music was granted a distinctly

    im-

    portant position at her court.

    Indisputable and substantial evidence of this

    position lies in

    MaFy's

    collection of

    musical instruments. An inventory com-

    piled at the end

    of her

    life by the court

    organist shows nearly two hundred

    items

    in this

    collection, which included

    twenty viols, fifty cornetti, and over

    fifty flutes plus clavichords, lutes, sackbuts, shawms, and even the horn of

    a

    unicorn 27

    Mary

    had left

    Buda

    in

    haste, taking

    few

    material possessions

    with

    her. In

    the

    years

    before

    accepting

    the

    regency,

    she seldom

    remained

    in

    one place for long. This collection

    of instruments then must have been

    amassed

    almost

    entirely during

    her

    years

    as

    regent

    in

    Brussels.

    This

    assump-

    tion is borne out by de Gyn's

    accounts, which include purchase payments

    for organs, harpsichords, flutes,

    sackbuts, shawms, and cornetti. His

    records also show that the

    instruments were in use since amounts are

    designated

    for

    their maintenace,

    tuning,

    and

    repair. Some payments

    show

    that certain instruments were

    products

    of

    Netherlands craftsmen; others

    were

    imported products. In

    1535 flutes and shawms

    were bought

    in

    Augsburg

    for the

    court;

    a few

    years

    later

    a

    harpsichord

    was

    purchased

    in

    Paris and

    specified

    for

    use

    in

    Mary's

    own

    chamber.

    The

    Comptes

    also name

    many

    of

    the

    musicians

    engaged

    to

    play

    these

    instruments, musicians

    who

    tended

    to

    come from outside the

    Netherlands.

    The

    regent brought

    three shawm

    players

    from

    Germany

    in

    1535 and a

    lutenist from Austria. One of her

    organists came from Germany, and

    another was hired away from her rival, Francis I of France. Two Italians,

    brothers from

    Milan, were recruited

    to

    play cornetto. (Perhaps significant-

    ly, the majority

    of

    cornettists employed

    by French royalty were also Italian

    25MessireF.

    Richardot, Sermon

    Funebre fait

    aus

    Obseques de la

    Roine

    Marie Douairiere

    de

    Hongrie"

    (Antwerp:

    Christoph

    Plantin, 1559), fo.

    20v.

    26"I1

    aut

    faire plus

    que le possible."

    Charles

    to

    Mary, Septmber

    10,

    1536, Correspondenz

    des

    KaisersKarl

    V, ed.

    Karl Lanz

    (1844-1846;

    reprint,

    Frankfurt:

    Minerva,

    1966), II:666.

    2Van der

    Straeten,

    LaMusique VII:

    439-444

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    410 The Sixteenth

    Century Journal

    players.) At Mary's court where most of

    the singers appear to

    have been

    Netherlanders, these

    instrumentalists testified

    both to the cosmopolitan

    tastes of the patroness

    and to her active efforts to recruit musical

    talent.

    These foreigners also provided an important means for the dissemination of

    musical ideas. The

    freshness of foreign accomplishments did

    have certain

    disadvantages,

    such as the

    expense

    of homesick musicians returning to visit

    family

    and friends;

    on one

    occasion a little German page

    brought

    to

    Brussels

    to

    play

    sackbut

    did not

    like court

    life

    and

    ran

    away. Mary had

    to

    dispatch messengers

    to

    Antwerp, Maestricht, and Covalentz before

    finally

    locating the little scamp at Cologne (AN,

    B. 3360, fo. 226v-227r).

    When these

    musicians

    played may

    be learned

    from

    de

    Gyn's

    accounts

    and from contemporary practice at other courts. One of the most important

    courtly

    occasions

    for music was

    the

    fete,

    events

    for which

    Mary

    became

    renowned. These fetes

    normally honored some imperial family

    member,

    often coincided with the visit

    of

    neighboring

    royalty, and frequently

    involv-

    ed

    the Flemish

    nobility,

    whose

    majority

    in

    the

    Council

    of

    State

    made

    it

    politically advantageous

    to court its favor. One such occasion,

    witnessed

    by

    the

    emperor

    himself as

    well

    as

    various nobles, took place

    in

    1543.

    His

    Majesty

    and the said

    Queen

    came

    to

    the window

    of

    His

    same Majesty's room, where

    in

    the middle

    of

    court there was

    conducted a combat

    on

    foot, by

    the

    Marquis

    of

    Berghes,

    the

    Lord

    of

    Trazagnies, and Caresmu, intermediaries, against

    all

    comers, which lasted

    until

    night.

    That ended, His same

    Majesty

    went

    to

    the

    chapel,

    where the Lord

    of

    Arenbergi,

    who

    is

    of

    those of Marche,

    was married

    to

    Mademoiselle

    of Berghes

    ....

    The banquet

    ended, there took place abundant masques

    and

    everyone danced;

    then were

    given

    the prizes

    of

    combat .

    ...

    That done,

    the

    Queen

    led

    the

    bride

    to

    her chambers where

    there

    was a banquet.28

    It

    is

    clear

    from

    iconographical

    evidence and

    analogous

    events

    recorded

    elsewhere that tournaments, weddings,

    banquets, masques,

    and dances,

    such as are described

    here,

    each

    involved

    music.29

    Although

    the

    details

    of

    many performances

    at Mary's court are

    often lacking, it can be said that her

    court

    composers

    are widely represented

    in

    contemporary

    music prints and

    manuscripts by

    the kinds of compositions

    appropriate

    to

    such

    occasions:

    love songs, usually fitted with texts of courtly

    love, drinking songs,

    dances,

    and music specifically notated for instrumentssuch as lute and keyboard.30

    28Collection

    des

    Voyages

    des

    Souverains

    des

    Pays-Bas,

    publiee

    par

    Louis

    Prosper

    Gachard,

    Academie

    royale

    des

    sciences,

    des

    lettres,

    et

    des

    beaux-arts

    de

    Belgique.

    Commission

    royale

    d'histoire.

    Publications

    in

    quarto

    (Brussels:

    F.

    Hayez,

    1876),

    II:

    271-272.

    29Walter

    Salmen,

    Musikleben

    im

    16.

    Jahrhundert,

    vol.

    3,

    Pt.

    9

    of

    Musikgeschichte

    in

    Bildern

    (Leipzig:

    VEB

    Deutscher Verlag

    fur

    Musik,

    1976),

    P.

    22.

    30For

    modern

    edition

    of some

    of

    these

    compositions,

    see

    Benedictus

    Appenzeller,

    Chan-

    sons,

    ed. Glenda

    Goss

    Thompson,

    vol. 14

    of

    Monumenta

    Musica

    Neerlandica

    (Amsterdam;

    Vereniging

    voor

    Nederlandse

    Muziekgeschiedenis,

    1982).

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    Mary of

    Hungary &Music

    Patronage 411

    Plate

    2.

    Vingt

    et six chansons

    musicales et nouvelles

    (Antwerp:

    Tielman

    Susato,

    [1543[),

    fo.

    lv.

    Brussels,

    Bibliotheque royale,

    Reserve

    precieuse.

    Mary put

    forth

    her most

    spectacular

    effort

    in

    festival

    production

    at a

    strategic

    moment

    in

    Habsburg politics,

    to

    assist

    Charles

    in

    introducing

    his

    son

    Philip

    II

    to

    his future

    subjects

    in

    the

    Netherlands.

    The

    fame

    of

    the

    resulting fete,

    which took

    place

    at

    Binche, has

    come down

    to

    the

    twentieth

    century,

    and

    legends

    of

    it

    survive

    in

    the costumed character

    from

    the

    same

    town known as the

    Gille de

    Binche. Contemporaries marvelled at the

    sump-

    tuousness

    of

    the Fetes de

    Binche,

    which

    took

    place

    in

    the

    splendid

    environ-

    ment of

    Mary's palace.3"

    Although

    few

    musical

    details

    were

    recorded,

    it

    is

    clear that music

    was

    a

    significant

    element

    in

    the

    festivities,

    which

    ranged

    over the

    many rooms as well

    as

    the

    surrounding grounds.

    In

    fact,

    one

    of

    Mary's

    organists, Rogier

    Pathie,

    had

    a

    principal

    role

    in

    planning

    the

    nine

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    412 The Sixteenth

    Century Journal

    days of events,

    during which young Philip was

    represented as a mysterious

    knight with a magic

    sword who finally triumphed over the

    castle

    of

    a wick-

    ed enchanter. Among the specific musical references, one is the description

    of an allemand

    danced by various lords and ladies of

    the court. This par-

    ticular

    entertainment, performed before Mary,

    Charles, their sister

    Eleonore, Philip, and assembled courtiers, lasted an

    entire evening. Like

    other events during

    the Fetes, this one appears to

    have been allegorical, a

    dramatization

    of

    the European political situation

    in

    the 1540s. With eight

    dancers dressed as savages and representing the

    dreaded Turk and two

    groups of four

    knights each representing Europe

    divided against itself

    (Habsburg vs. Tudor and Valois), the message seemed

    to

    be

    that

    the

    Euro-

    pean powers could avoid

    political disaster only by uniting

    their

    Christian

    forces against the

    Infidel. The allemand itself ended

    ominously, the knights'

    ladies being

    captured despite the combined efforts of

    their formerly divided

    ranks. Not until the

    following day were the damsels rescued from the fort

    where they were

    held

    prisoners.

    The

    use

    of

    music

    to

    convey political meaning

    through allegory, as

    in

    this episode, was an

    important part of royal life

    in

    the sixteenth century.32

    Valois, Tudor,

    and Medici

    as

    well

    as Habsburg staged

    splendid

    festivals and

    elaborate entries and tournaments rich with political associations. Such

    spectacle

    made

    legendary

    the

    meeting

    of the

    European

    powers

    at

    the

    Field

    of

    the Cloth of Gold

    in

    1520. In the long history of musical pageantry at the

    French court the sixteenth-century fetes of Catherine

    de Medici stand out

    for

    being politically

    explicit and musically elaborate. In the later history of

    French musical

    pageantry music became

    a

    tool with

    which the roi soleil

    sought

    to

    propagandize

    the

    grandeur

    of

    his

    reign

    and

    his

    person.33Mary

    of

    Hungary's fetes, particularly

    the

    Fetes de

    Binche, appear

    to

    have

    been

    no

    less politically calculated than other court fetes of the time. Through music

    in

    alliance with

    other arts, the regent seems

    to

    have made

    the most

    of

    her

    opportunities

    to

    glorify

    the

    empire.

    Music was

    not,

    however,

    reserved

    only

    for

    secular

    occasions at

    Mary's

    court but was also

    bound up

    with

    religious

    and ceremonial

    events.

    In

    these

    capacities music

    had a

    daily

    function

    at

    the

    court,

    as the music and

    musi-

    cians

    of

    Mary's

    active

    chapel

    attest. The

    chapel

    was

    the chief section

    of

    the

    household, the one that appears at the head of each

    Etat journalier,

    and

    significantly, an organization where religious functions joined political and

    musical

    ones.

    The

    very presence

    of

    the

    chapel

    in

    the

    courtly

    establishment

    3"The

    ources

    for

    the

    following

    account,

    which

    is

    particularly

    indebted

    to

    Daniel

    Heartz,

    have

    been

    given

    in

    note 8

    above.

    32See

    the

    work of

    Roy

    Strong,

    Splendour

    at

    Court,

    Renaissance

    Spectacle

    and

    Illusion

    (London:

    Weidenfeld

    and

    Nicolson,

    1973), and

    Frances

    A.

    Yates,

    The

    French

    Academies

    of

    the

    Sixeenth

    Century

    (1947;

    reprint,

    Nendeln,

    Liechtenstein,

    1968).

    33Music

    as

    the

    political

    tool

    of

    Louis

    XIV is

    the

    subject

    of

    Robert

    M.

    Isherwood's Music

    in

    the

    Service

    of

    the

    King

    (Ithaca:

    Cornell

    University

    Press,

    1973).

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    Mary of Hungary

    &

    Music Patronage

    413

    gave

    tangible

    evidence

    of the bond unifying

    church and

    state,

    a

    bond

    the

    emperor

    himself

    wished

    to revitalize.34

    In

    addition,

    the

    chapel's

    musical

    components served as a testimony to the cultural sophistication of the

    patroness

    and

    the respect

    due

    her.

    For

    Mary

    of

    Hungary,

    who was taking

    over the

    reins of government

    in

    the Netherlands

    at a time

    when

    the emperor

    would be absent

    for long

    periods,

    an

    increase

    in the proportions

    of

    the

    chapel

    would

    perhaps

    be a

    welcome reinforcement

    of Habsburg

    authority

    with Catholic

    legitimacy.

    This

    organization

    that

    melded political

    and

    religious

    interests could

    also

    present a

    united

    front against

    Lutheran

    reform.

    Both

    purposes

    would serve

    to

    fulfill

    the

    political

    mandate

    Charles

    had

    left

    his

    sister.

    If

    political

    power

    was

    indeed

    the

    reason

    for

    the

    emphasis

    given

    the

    chapel

    during Mary's

    regency,

    then

    the

    Habsburgs

    were

    not alone

    in

    perceiving

    the value

    of an impressive

    musical

    and religious

    organization

    to

    achieve

    this

    end.

    One recent

    study

    has

    given

    political

    interpretation

    to

    similar activities

    of

    Duke

    Ercole d'Este

    in

    Ferrara.35

    The duke,

    who

    came

    to

    power

    in 1471,

    lost no

    time

    in building

    and

    staffing his

    chapel,

    allegedly

    in

    an effort

    to

    make

    his

    court

    a "seat

    of

    power

    and

    propaganda."

    Encouraging

    public

    religious display

    was apparently

    one means

    the

    devout duke

    used

    to

    facilitate effective government over his state. His increased musical forces

    were also

    a political

    statement

    to

    Galeazzo

    Maria

    Sforza,

    the flamboyant

    ruler of the

    rival state

    of Milan,

    with whom

    he came

    into

    direct competition

    for talented

    musical

    personnel.

    Whatever

    the

    motivations,

    it

    is

    certainly

    clear that the regent's

    chapel

    was an

    organization

    rejuvenated

    after

    Mary

    returned

    to the Netherlands.

    The

    chapel

    of Mary's predecessor,

    Marguerite

    of

    Austria,

    had

    not been

    musically self-reliant.36

    Drawing

    musicians

    from

    young Charles's

    domestic

    chapel, Marguerite had finally added a few performers of her own. By 1527

    she

    was

    employing

    three adult

    singers,

    three

    choirboys, and

    an

    organist.

    None

    of these musicians

    seems

    to

    have composed

    for

    her chapel. During

    Mary's authority,

    the

    chapel

    of the regent

    of

    the Netherlands

    achieved

    34See

    Frances A. Yates,

    "Charles

    V

    and the Idea

    of the Empire,"

    Astraea,

    The Imperial

    Theme in

    the Sixteenth

    Century

    (London:

    Routledge and Kegan Paul,

    1975), pp.

    1-28.

    35This

    account of Duke Ercole

    is taken from

    the study by Lewis Lockwood, "Strategies

    of

    music patronage

    in the

    fifteenth

    century: the

    capella

    of Ercole I d'Este,"

    Music in

    Medieval and

    Early Modern Europe, ed. LainFenlon (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981), pp.

    227-248.

    36Thebest available

    study

    of

    the music

    at the court

    of

    Marguerite

    of

    Austria

    in

    the

    Netherlands is

    Martin

    Picker's

    The Chanson

    Albums

    of Marguerite

    of Austria (Berkeley:

    University

    of

    California

    Press, 1965).

    The

    records

    of

    Marguerite's

    court preserved

    at Lille,

    although

    summarized

    in

    various volumes

    of the

    Inventaire

    sommaire,

    have not been

    subjected

    to

    the kind

    of

    systematic

    study

    that

    would provide

    the

    details about

    performance

    and

    musi-

    cians

    needed

    for

    the

    most accurate

    assessment

    and comparisons.

    It is hoped that

    the

    renewed

    interest in

    Marguerite,

    marked

    by

    the conference

    on Marguerite

    of Austria

    held in Malines,

    Belgium, October,

    1982,

    will result

    in studies

    of this nature.

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    414 The

    Sixteenth Century Journal

    musical independence

    from the emperor's. Her chapel now included its own

    choir

    and its

    own

    scribes

    and composers

    who

    refurbished the musical reper-

    tory. Mary's organization

    thus began to resemble the splendid chapels of

    her father and grandfather, representing a continuation of a

    long and im-

    pressive musical tradition.

    The enlargement of

    Mary's chapel membership has gone almost com-

    pletely unnoticed in

    scholarly literature.37Yet an

    examination of the rolls

    preserved

    in

    the Etats

    journaliers shows an unmistakable increase in size

    and musical independence of this

    organization. By 1535 Mary

    had recruited

    twice as many choirboys

    and more than three times the number

    of

    singers

    employed by Marguerite,

    a

    respectable

    choir

    that could

    perform

    complex

    polyphonic works. De Gyn's Comptes gives the sources for some of these

    works. In 1535 the scribe Pierre van den

    Hove, called

    Alamire, sold the

    regent a good number

    of

    books

    for

    use

    in

    her

    chapel (AN B. 3357, fo. 184v).

    At

    various

    times

    each

    of two

    successive mattres

    des

    enffans

    received reim-

    bursement

    for

    books

    of

    masses and

    magnificats purchased

    for

    the

    chapel.

    As

    principal composer

    for

    the

    court,

    one

    of

    these

    men, Benedictus

    Ap-

    penzeller, composed a

    substantial

    number of

    polyphonic

    magnificats,

    masses, and

    motets himself. Most of

    these are preserved

    in

    manuscripts that

    today belong to the Benedictine Monastery at Montserrat. Containing

    music

    by Appenzeller,

    Mary's organist Pathie, and other respected com-

    posers of the time, these manuscripts, which are only

    beginning

    to

    be

    in-

    vestigated,

    are

    thought

    to

    have been

    compiled at

    her court and

    to

    represent

    the music

    performed by her chapel.

    I

    With its music

    books, instruments, choirboys

    and

    priest-singers,

    the

    chapel accompanied Mary

    on

    her

    frequent peregrinations

    about the

    realm,

    presumably

    to

    comply

    with

    the emperor's request that mass and

    vespers

    be

    celebrated daily in plainsong and polyphony.38The activity and visibility of

    this

    important religious

    organization

    with its

    considerable musical

    compo-

    nent

    could hardly have failed

    to

    impress foreigners

    and reassure

    subjects

    alike

    with

    the

    grandeur

    of the

    Habsburg

    establishment.

    That the

    chapel

    members also had

    responsibility

    for

    composing

    and

    performing

    ceremonial music

    is

    suggested by

    certain

    compositions

    of

    the

    mattre des

    enffans

    de

    la

    chappelle

    known as state motets.

    These works are

    polyphonic compositions

    with

    texts that

    acknowledge specific

    events

    or in-

    dividuals

    of

    the

    day. They

    were

    probably

    used at

    solemn but

    not

    necessarily

    liturgical

    ceremonies. One

    of these motets names Francis

    I.

    Its date and

    wording

    indicate that the music commemorates

    the

    peace arranged

    between

    37In

    Les

    musiciens

    beiges

    (Brussels:

    [1848]),

    I:

    144, Edouard

    Fetis stated

    that

    Mary's

    chapel

    did

    not

    contain

    many

    musicians

    and that

    she

    found her

    situation

    too

    difficult to

    give much

    at-

    tention to

    the arts.

    Only

    Joseph

    Schmidt-G6rg seems to

    have

    recognized

    the

    change in

    Mary

    of

    Hungary's

    chapel

    by

    comparison

    with

    the

    regents

    before

    and

    after her.

    See

    Nicolas

    Gombert,

    Kapellmeister Kaiser

    Karls

    V.

    Leben

    und Werk

    (Tutzing: Hans

    Schneider,

    1971), p. 29.

    38Van

    der

    Straeten,

    La

    Musique VII:

    278-279.

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    Mary of Hungary

    &

    Music Patronage 415

    Habsburg and Valois

    in

    1538.39

    A

    token meeting among Pope Paul III,

    Charles V, and Francis at Nice and

    Aigues-Morte in that year was followed

    by another between Francis and Mary of

    Hungary at

    Compiegne

    and Cam-

    brai. Accompanying the French king on

    this later occasion was his wife

    Eleonore, Mary's musically-gifted

    older

    sister,

    for whom

    the regent had a

    particular

    affection.

    The

    days spent

    hunting

    and

    banqueting during

    this en-

    counter perhaps offered

    the

    opportunity for a performance

    of this

    motet,

    which extravagantly praises the king. At the closing phrase, "Optamus

    memores europa, asia, affrica/ Totus

    Orbis Franciscisci/ Pareat Imperiis,"

    musical imitation

    is

    used among the

    voices as though

    to

    reflect the far cor-

    ners of the world named in the text. A

    change to hymn-like style and a new

    meter sets off the concluding words, "Pareat Imperiis." Another state

    motet, also by Mary's

    maltre

    des

    enffans Appenzeller, celebrates Erasmus in

    a

    moving lament,

    with

    parts being

    given an unusually

    low

    range and words

    from Lamentations 5:16 (Cecidit

    corona capitis nostri) interwoven with

    those of a contemporary text. This

    humanist, who had long admired Mary

    of Hungary, had

    dcedicated

    o her the

    book Vidua Christiana in 1530. Other

    motets glorify the Habsburgs

    themselves. Oramus te rex, glorie Christe is

    probably addressed to Charles V. Its

    text continues:

    qui in anxietate constituti sumus

    ut conservare

    digneris Regem nostrum (some lines read Im-

    peratorum nostrum)

    victoriosissimum et reducere feliciter

    Ipsum

    enim nobis

    protectorem.

    The work is thought to be a prayer to the emperor who finally brought

    peace

    to

    the Netherlands after

    the persistent and terrible violence caused by

    Martin le

    Noir,

    the

    Duke

    of

    Cleves,

    and other insurgents.40

    Another work, although

    not

    technically

    a state

    motet

    since

    it

    has a

    liturgically appropriate text, may nevertheless have been intended to glorify

    Mary

    herself. The text addresses

    Mary

    the

    Virgin (Sancte Maria,

    succurre

    miseris),

    and the music

    is

    dedicated

    to

    Mary

    of

    Hungary

    "in

    gratitude" by

    this

    composer

    who

    served her more than

    two

    decades.

    Although

    other

    political

    works

    may

    have been

    composed

    by Mary's musicians,

    these

    works

    are

    among

    the

    least

    likely

    to

    have survived

    into

    the

    present century,

    since

    their use was usually limited

    to

    a single occasion.

    Nevertheless,

    the few such

    compositions

    that

    do

    remain

    demonstrate

    how

    closely

    interwoven

    sixteenth-century art and politics could be.

    The

    Implications of Mary's Patronage

    The

    extent

    of

    Mary

    of

    Hungary's patronage

    of music

    in the

    Netherlands is demonstrated

    by

    numerous details

    in

    the

    surviving

    39Theseworks and others

    like them from

    the sixteenth century are discussed

    by

    Albert

    Dunning in

    Die Staatsmotette 1480-1555 (Utrecht:

    Ossthoek,

    1970).

    40Ibid.,

    pp. 217-218.

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    416 The Sixteenth

    Century Journal

    documents

    of

    her court. These documents show that Mary created

    an at-

    mosphere thoroughly congenial to musical performance and

    creativity by

    staging festive occasions for

    musical participation and by

    magnifying the

    performing resources of the Netherlands court. The impressive

    number of

    instruments she accumulated,

    the instrumentalists she imported, the

    singers

    and

    composers she added

    to

    the chapel together with the musical composi-

    tions emanating from her

    court all bear out the image of a music-loving

    patroness

    who

    actively nurtured the

    special

    talents of the

    musically gifted.

    With

    such

    clear

    evidence

    that Mary indeed fostered an expansive level

    of musical activity, the

    question of what benefit she

    derived from

    cultivating

    this

    art may be asked. Why did she encourage

    expenditures

    for

    fetes, instruments, and performers in times of military crises, inflation, and

    religious turmoil? It might

    be replied that she wished

    to

    give her

    courtiers

    and

    herself some relief from the

    weightier responsibilities

    of

    their

    times.

    As

    a

    musically intelligent

    individual from

    a

    family

    with

    a

    long

    and

    rich

    musical

    tradition, Mary perhaps

    cultivated music because she enjoyed the art.

    Moreover, cultivation

    of music

    was

    not

    only

    a

    family legacy

    but also

    the

    current

    fashion. The widespread attention given the

    fine

    arts

    generally

    is

    an

    important feature of sixteenth-century life that must be attributed in

    some

    degree to the influence of the ideals of humanism.

    Yet cultural sophistication

    also caused intense personal rivalries

    between

    individuals. Such competition arose between Duke Ercole

    and

    Galeazzo

    Maria Sforza,

    for

    example. Mary

    of

    Hungary,

    a

    politically

    astute

    ruler

    who

    kept careful

    records, handled sensitive diplomatic negotiations,

    and devised

    military strategy,

    would

    hardly

    have been naive

    in

    the realm

    of

    artistic

    accomplishment.

    Her

    own

    training

    and the fact

    that she

    assisted

    her

    brothers Charles and Ferdinand

    in

    recruiting musical personnel

    for

    their

    chapels indicate that Mary was conscious of musical matters of her day.

    It

    may

    be

    noted that the

    two

    principal European

    rivals

    of

    the

    Habsburgs, Francis I and

    Henry VIII, were

    renowned

    for their

    magnificent

    musical

    establishments. Contemporary reports

    tell

    of the

    remarkable

    per-

    formances of their respective

    chapels when

    the

    two

    kings

    met

    in

    1520

    at the

    Field of

    the

    Cloth

    of

    Gold.4' By

    1547

    Henry

    VIII had

    enlarged

    his musical

    establishment

    to

    include

    nearly sixty

    musicians.42

    By

    the same

    year

    Francis

    too

    had enlarged his court

    to

    allow for three

    distinct

    groups

    of

    musicians

    who served either the chapel, the chamber, or the stable.43Presumably

    4"See

    he essays by Paul

    Kast,

    "Remarquessur la

    musique et les

    musiciens de la

    chappelle

    de

    Francois

    Ier

    au

    Camp du Drap

    d'Or," and

    Hugh Baillie,

    "Les

    musiciens de la chapelle

    royale

    d'Henri VIII

    au camp du Drap

    d'Or,"

    in

    Fetes et

    Ceremonies

    au

    temps de

    Charles-Quint, Les

    Fetes de la

    Renaissance, 2

    (Paris:

    Editions du

    Centre

    National de la

    Recherche

    Scientifique,

    1960):

    135-160.

    42TheNew

    Grove,

    s.v. "Henry VIII."

    43HenriPrunieres, "La

    Musique de la

    Chambre

    et

    de

    l'ecurie sous le Regne de

    Francois

    Ier,

    1516-1547,"

    L'annee

    musicale I

    (1911):'

    215-249.

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  • 8/12/2019 Review Music Patronage

    18/19

    Mary of Hungary

    &

    Music Patronage 417

    Mary would have been especially well informed of

    the French expansion

    since her sister Eleonore was Francis'squeen.

    In the sixteenth century competitive rulers could hardly ignore the

    challenge

    of

    upholding the cultural sophisitication

    of

    their individual

    realms. Thus, splendour at court, as

    the title of

    a

    monograph

    on

    the subject

    goes, became an essential public relations

    tool in

    this century, a kind of pro-

    paganda that reassured subjects and impressed

    rivals." In the

    book of this

    title Roy Strong points out that one way for a Renaissance prince

    to

    project

    not

    only a favorable public image but actually a

    mirage of power was

    through the extravagant display

    of

    courtly magnificence at tournaments,

    masques, ballets, and entries.

    He further notes that

    the

    fundamental objec-

    tive of the court fate, to which Mary contributed so famously, was "power

    conceived as art."

    To these observations

    it can be

    added that court

    chapels

    too

    furnished important opportunities

    to

    flaunt impressive

    musical forces.

    In the face

    of

    these

    considerations,

    it

    could be

    concluded

    that one

    of

    the

    most important benefits which Mary

    of

    Hungary derived

    from

    cultivating

    music was a political one. As an art

    to

    which her

    family had long been

    devoted, music was perhaps the art

    most

    appropriate

    to

    enhance the

    Habsburg image, immortalize its name,

    commemorate its legal transac-

    tions, and impress its rivals. The steps that Mary took to include music in

    her fates,

    to

    acquire musical instruments for her court,

    to

    enlarge the

    musical membership

    of

    her chapel, and

    to

    encourage,

    if

    not

    actually

    com-

    mission, compositions for political occasions suggest that this regent had a

    keen

    appreciation

    of

    the

    cultural expectations

    of

    a

    Habsburg

    ruler and an

    astute sense of

    how

    the art

    of

    music

    might

    be

    used

    to

    enhance

    the

    imperial

    image, a task

    to

    which she was clearly devoted. Although Machiavellian,

    Mary

    of

    Hungary's

    actions elicited

    praise

    at her funeral. Commenting

    on

    the regent's efforts to encourage music and other matters of art and learn-

    ing, Archbishop Richardot pointed out

    that

    such

    actions "give singular

    lustre

    to

    the virtue and splendor of Princes and . .. are

    of

    the greatest utility

    to

    their estates and countries."45Mary's particular attentions

    to

    music imply

    that cultural achievements played a serious role

    in

    Habsburg

    politics.

    Coda

    For

    performers today Mary

    of

    Hungary's importance

    rests

    in

    the

    specific musical compositions and the performance situations she

    engendered.

    To

    these

    things musicologists

    would add that

    there is a need

    to

    consider the effects

    that

    her tastes

    and

    individual

    requirements

    may

    have

    had

    on

    musical style. Thanks

    to

    Mary

    of

    Hungray's

    patronage,

    her com-

    posers wrote, her scribes copied, and her performers

    played. Togther they

    "Strong,

    Splendour

    at

    Court,

    especially ChapterII: "The Politics of

    Spectacle,"pp.

    19-76.

    ""Sermon

    Funebre,"

    fo.

    28r.

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  • 8/12/2019 Review Music Patronage

    19/19

    418 The Sixteenth

    Century Journal

    produced a music "sounding

    with supreme delight," much of which survives

    and can profitably be

    revived for performance and study.

    This investigation also suggests that Mary of Hungary's cultivation of

    music was

    not

    simply

    an encouragement of sybaritic pleasures but an

    enhancement

    of

    the

    stature

    of

    the empire she

    served. Assessments of the

    music as well as the political

    affairs of this court should henceforth take into

    consideration

    this revised perspective

    on

    Mary

    of Hungary and her music

    patronage.


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