MAINTAINING THE ANTIQUITY OF THE HOUSE: MARGUERITE DE NAVARRE, NOBLE MARRIAGE AND DYNASTIC CULTURE IN EARLY SIXTEENTH-CENTURY FRANCE

Abstract

EARLY SIXTEENTH-CENTURY FRANCE was ruled by an aristocracy enmeshed in interwoven patronage networks that linked the nobles of the court with those in the provinces, the noblesse d' epee with the noblesse de . robe, the grands with the lesser nobility. Ties between noble families and noble houses determined how high one could rise, which career one could pursue, how much wealth one could accumulate, and into which dynasty one could marry. While the official business of the monarchy was done by men operating within these networks, the unofficial business of establishing and maintaining ties within these networks was often managed by women. Women served as the hidden brokers in this system; whether bringing male relatives or household officers to the notice of their more powerful relatives or raising the children of other noble families within their households to foster ties between families, women had a crucial role in instilling and transmitting noble ideals and dynastic culture. In this society obsessed with the maintenance of lineage, marriage served as the lynchpin of dynastic culture, at once upholding and transmitting the values of that dynastic culture. As Louis V de Rohan-Guemene put it in 1548, discussing his proposal to marry his daughter to his nephew, M. de Gie, rather than to another suitor, it was necessary 'pour entretenir ... I'antiquite de sa maison' [to maintain ... the antiquity of his house].l His own son was so delicate there was little hope that he would be able to father offspring to perpetuate the dynasty; in such a situation, the lineage would be better served by marrying M. de Guemene's daughter to another branch of the family, rather than lose her and her inheritance to an unrelated house. We learn of these statements from a letter written by Marguerite de Navarre to Mme de la Rochefoucault, discussing the suggested marriage. Marguerite opposed the Guemene-Gie marriage because she wanted the girl to be married to Mme de la Rochefoucault's son, and the letter informed Mme de la Rochefoucault that Marguerite was sending her secretary, Victor Brodeau, to discuss the situation and plan a strategy to implement Marguerite's plans. Marguerite also wrote to M. de Guemene himself to push the GuemeneRochefoucault marriage, but to no avail. The King proved sympathetic to M. de