Some of the principal actors in the Tour de Nesle Affair, depicted in 1315, the year after the scandal broke: Philip IV of France (centre) and his family: l–r: his sons, Charles and Philip, his daughter Isabella, himself, his eldest son and heir Louis, and his brother, Charles of Valois.
The Tour de Nesle affair was a scandal amongst the French royal family in 1314, during which Margaret, Blanche, and Joan, the daughters-in-law of King Philip IV, were accused of adultery. The accusations were apparently started by Philip's daughter, Isabella. The Tour de Nesle was a tower in Paris where much of the adultery was said to have occurred. The scandal led to imprisonments, torture and executions for the princesses' lovers and the imprisonment of the princesses, with lasting consequences for the final years of the House of Capet.
Queen Isabella of England first reported the rumours of adultery by her sisters-in-law to her father in Paris
The royal scandal occurred at the end of the difficult reign of Philip IV, known as "le Bel" (the Fair) because of his good looks. Philip IV was said to be an unemotional man. The contemporary bishop of Pamiers described him as "neither a man nor a beast, but a statue";[1] modern historians have noted that he "cultivated a reputation for Christian kingship and showed few weaknesses of the flesh."[2] Throughout his reign, Philip had attempted to build up the authority and prestige of the French crown, raising fresh revenues, creating new institutions of government, engaging in wars against his rivals, and on occasion challenging the authority of the Church.[3] Just before the crisis broke, Philip had been engaged in the liquidation of the order of the Knights Templar in France. By 1314, however, he was financially overstretched and in an increasingly difficult domestic political situation, and some have suggested that his weakened position contributed to the subsequent royal crisis.[4]
Philip IV had three surviving sons, Louis, Philip and Charles. As was customary for the period, all three were married with an eye for political gain. Initially, Philip had intended Louis to marry Joan, the eldest daughter of Otto IV, Count of Burgundy, but in the end chose Margaret, the daughter of Robert II, Duke of Burgundy, in 1305, and arranged for his middle son Philip to marry Joan in 1307. His youngest son Charles married Blanche, another of Otto's daughters, in 1308.[5]
The three marriages had fared differently. Louis' is considered to have been an unhappy match; Louis, known as "the Quarreler" and "the Headstrong", is said to have preferred playing real tennis to spending time with the "feisty and shapely" Margaret.[6] Charles, a relatively conservative, "strait-laced"[7] and "stiff-necked"[8] individual, had an unexceptional marriage. Philip, in contrast, became noted for his unusual generosity to his wife Joan;[9] the pair had a considerable number of children in a short space of time and Philip wrote numerous, if formulaic, love letters to his wife over the years.[10]
Meanwhile, Philip the Fair married his daughter, Isabella, to Edward II of England in 1308 in an attempt to resolve the tensions of his twin problems of conflict over the contested territories of Gascony and Flanders. Isabella's marriage proved difficult, largely due to Edward's intimate relationship with his close friend and possible lover, Piers Gaveston. Isabella looked frequently to her father for help addressing the problems in her English marriage.[11]
The scandal
A 19th-century representation of the Tour de Nesle, where much of the adulterous activity was alleged to have occurred, by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Most accounts of the scandal begin with the visit of the king and queen of England to the queen's father in France during 1313. During the visit, Louis and Charles had a satirical puppet show put on for their guests, and after this Isabella had given new embroidered purses both to her brothers and to their wives.[12] Later in the year, Isabella and Edward held a large dinner in London to celebrate their return and Isabella apparently noticed that the purses she had given to her sisters-in-law were now being carried by two Norman knights, Walter of Aunay (also known as Gautier of Aunay) and Philip of Aunay.[12] Isabella concluded that the pair must have been carrying on an illicit affair, and appears to have informed her father of this during her next visit to France in 1314.[13]
Philip IV placed the knights under surveillance for a period, and the scandal began to take shape. The accusations centred on suggestions that Blanche and Margaret had been drinking, eating and engaging in adultery with Gautier and Philip of Aunay in the Tour de Nesle over a period.[14] The Tour de Nesle was an old guard tower in Paris next to the river Seine and had been bought by Philip IV in 1308.[15] The third sister-in-law, Joan, was initially said to have been present on some of these occasions and to have known of the affair; later accusations were extended to have included suggestions that she had also been involved in adultery herself.
Most historians have tended to conclude that the accusations against Blanche and Margaret were probably true, although some are more skeptical.[16] Some accounts have suggested that Isabella's accusations were politically motivated; she had just given birth to her son, Edward, and in theory the removal of all three of her sisters-in-law might have made his accession to the French throne more likely.[17] Others have argued that this seems an unlikely plan, given the normal probability that at least one of the three brothers would have successfully remarried and enjoyed a male heir in the coming years.[18] Some contemporary chroniclers suggested that Philip IV's unpopular chamberlainEnguerrand de Marigny might have been responsible for framing the knights and women involved.[19]
Following the period of surveillance, Philip IV broke the news of the accusations publicly and arrested all involved. There are some suggestions that Walter and Philip of Aunay attempted to escape to England but in due course both knights were interrogated and tortured by French officials.[14] Both confessed to adultery and were found guilty, therefore, of lèse majesté.[4] Blanche and Margaret were tried before the Paris Parlement and found guilty of adultery. The two women had their heads shaven and were sentenced to life imprisonment.[20] Joan was also tried before the Parlement but was found innocent, partially as a result of her husband Philip's influence.
Charles the Wise (1338–1380) Charles V, King of France r.1364–1380
The Tour de Nesle scandal led to the imprisonment of Blanche and Margaret, and the execution of their lovers.[6] Having been tortured, the guilty knights Gautier and Philippe were then killed; most histories agree that they were first castrated and then either drawn and quartered[4] or flayed alive, broken on a wheel and then hanged.[6] The episode came as a severe shock to Philip IV and some suggest that it contributed to his death later that same year.[2] Isabella was criticized by some in France for failing to stand by her sisters-in-law, although this passed with time;[6] Isabella's own marriage failed catastrophically in due course, with many historians believing that she was responsible for the murder of her husband Edward in 1327 after Isabella's seizure of power in England with her lover Roger de Mortimer in 1326.[21]
Due to the gap in the papacy between the death of Clement V in 1314 and the election of John XXII in 1316, Margaret's marriage to Louis could not be annulled, and she was imprisoned in an underground cell at Château Gaillard castle.[6] Louis succeeded to the throne later that year after the death of Philip IV, being officially crowned in August 1315. Margaret, however, was still alive and thus became queen of France, but promptly died under suspicious circumstances, possibly murdered, on 14August, whilst still imprisoned. Louis remarried five days later to Clementia of Hungary, the niece of Louis' own uncle and close advisor, Charles of Valois. Louis himself died a year later after falling ill following a challenging game of tennis.[22]
Joan was placed under house arrest at Dourdan in the aftermath of the Parlement acquittal amidst suggestions that she might also have been having an adulterous affair herself, but enjoyed the continuing support of her husband, Philip.[23] Philip campaigned for her release, which was forthcoming the next year and Joan returned to court. It is unclear why Philip stood by her in the way that he did. One theory has been that he was concerned that if he was to abandon Joan, he might also lose Burgundy, which he had gained through their marriage; another theory suggests that he was in truth very deeply in love with her.[23] With the death after a few days of the baby King John I of France, Joan served as Philip's queen consort for several years; after Philip's death, she inherited the County of Artois from her mother and finally died in 1330.
Blanche remained in prison at Château Gaillard as well for eight years until 1322, when Charles assumed the throne and she also technically became queen of France. Upon becoming king, Charles still refused to release Blanche, instead annulling their marriage and having Blanche confined to a nunnery.[24] Charles remarried immediately afterwards to Marie of Luxembourg; Blanche died the next year, her health broken from the years spent underground.[6]
Aftermath and legacy
The affair badly damaged the reputation of women in senior French circles, contributing to the way that the Salic Law was implemented during subsequent arguments over the succession to the throne.[2] When Louis died unexpectedly in 1316, supporters of his daughter Joan found that suspicions hung over her parentage following the scandal and that the French nobility were increasingly cautious over the concept of a woman inheriting the throne – Louis' brother, Philip took power instead,[25] first as regent pending the birth of Louis' posthumous child, John, and then as king following that infant's death within days. Philip died unexpectedly young as well, and his younger brother Charles did not live long after remarrying after his coronation, similarly dying without male heirs. The interpretation of the Salic Law then placed the French succession in doubt. Despite Philip of Valois, the son of Charles of Valois, claiming the throne with French noble support, Edward III of England, the son of Isabella was able to press his own case, resulting in the ensuing Hundred Years War (1337–1453).[26]
The affair would also have an impact in European culture. Scholars studying the theme of courtly love have observed that the narratives about adulterous queens die out shortly after the Tour de Nesle scandal, suggesting that they became less acceptable or entertaining after the executions and imprisonments in the French royal family.[27] The Tour de Nesle guard-tower itself was destroyed in 1665.[15]
The story of the affair was used by the French dramatist Alexandre Dumas as the basis for his play La Tour de Nesle in 1832, "a romantic thriller reconstructing medieval crimes on a grand scale".[28]Le Roi de fer (1955), the first novel of Maurice Druon's seven-volume series Les Rois maudits (The Accursed Kings), describes the affair and the subsequent executions in lurid and imaginative detail.
Related Research Articles
1314 (MCCCXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar, the 1314th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 314th year of the 2nd millennium, the 14th year of the 14th century, and the 5th year of the 1310s decade. As of the start of 1314, the Gregorian calendar was 8 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which was the dominant calendar of the time.
Isabella of France, sometimes described as the She-Wolf of France, was Queen of England as the wife of King Edward II, and de facto regent of England from 1327 until 1330. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre. Isabella was notable in her lifetime for her diplomatic skills, intelligence, and beauty. She overthrew her husband, becoming a "femme fatale" figure in plays and literature over the years, usually portrayed as a beautiful but cruel and manipulative figure.
Philip IV, called Philip the Fair, was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 1284 to 1305, as well as Count of Champagne. Although Philip was known to be handsome, hence the epithet le Bel, his rigid, autocratic, imposing, and inflexible personality gained him other nicknames, such as the Iron King. His fierce opponent Bernard Saisset, bishop of Pamiers, said of him: "He is neither man nor beast. He is a statue."
Philip VI, called the Fortunate or the Catholic and of Valois, was the first king of France from the House of Valois, reigning from 1328 until his death in 1350. Philip's reign was dominated by the consequences of a succession dispute. When King Charles IV of France died in 1328, his nearest male relative was his nephew, King Edward III of England, but the French nobility preferred Charles's paternal cousin, Philip.
Louis X, known as the Quarrelsome, was King of France from 1314 and King of Navarre as Louis I from 1305 until his death. He emancipated serfs who could buy their freedom and readmitted Jews into the kingdom. His short reign in France was marked by tensions with the nobility, due to fiscal and centralisation reforms initiated during the reign of his father by Grand Chamberlain Enguerrand de Marigny.
Philip III, called the Bold, was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Philip, who was accompanying him, returned to France and was anointed king at Reims in 1271.
Philip V, known as the Tall, was King of France and Navarre from 1316 to 1322. Philip engaged in a series of domestic reforms intended to improve the management of the kingdom. These reforms included the creation of an independent Court of Finances, the standardization of weights and measures, and the establishment of a single currency.
Charles IV, called the Fair in France and the Bald in Navarre, was last king of the direct line of the House of Capet, King of France and King of Navarre from 1322 to 1328. Charles was the third son of Philip IV; like his father, he was known as "the fair" or "the handsome".
Joan I was ruling Queen of Navarre and Countess of Champagne from 1274 until 1305. She was also Queen of France by marriage to King Philip IV. She founded the College of Navarre in Paris in 1305.
Joan II was Queen of Navarre from 1328 until her death. She was the only surviving child of Louis X of France, King of France and Navarre, and Margaret of Burgundy. Joan's paternity was dubious because her mother was involved in a scandal, but Louis X declared her his legitimate daughter before he died in 1316. However, the French lords were opposed to the idea of a female monarch and elected Louis X's brother, Philip V, king. The Navarrese noblemen also paid homage to Philip. Joan's maternal grandmother, Agnes of France, and uncle, Odo IV of Burgundy, made attempts to secure the counties of Champagne and Brie to Joan, but the French royal troops defeated her supporters. After Philip V married his daughter to Odo and granted him two counties as her dowry, Odo renounced Joan's claim to Champagne and Brie in exchange for a compensation in March 1318. Joan married Philip of Évreux, who was also a member of the French royal family.
Margaret of Burgundy was Queen of France and Navarre as the first wife of King Louis X; however, she was locked in prison during her whole French queenship.
The House of Plantagenet was a royal house which originated in the French County of Anjou. The name Plantagenet is used by modern historians to identify four distinct royal houses: the Angevins, who were also Counts of Anjou; the main line of the Plantagenets following the loss of Anjou; and the houses of Lancaster and York, two of the Plantagenets cadet branches. The family held the English throne from 1154, with the accession of Henry II, until 1485, when Richard III died.
The House of Capet ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians.
Joan of Valois was a Countess consort of Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland, by marriage to William I, Count of Hainaut. She acted as regent of Hainaut and Holland several times during the absence of her spouse, and she also acted as a political mediator.
Blanche of Burgundy was Queen of France and Navarre for a few months in 1322 through her marriage to King Charles IV the Fair. The daughter of Count Otto IV of Burgundy and Countess Mahaut of Artois, she was led to a disastrous marriage by her mother's ambition. Eight years before her husband's accession to the thrones, Blanche was arrested and found guilty of adultery with a Norman knight. Her sister-in-law, Margaret of Burgundy, suffered the same fate, while her sister Joan was acquitted. Blanche was imprisoned and not released even after becoming queen, until her marriage was annulled when she was moved to the coast of Normandy. The date and place of her death are unknown; the mere fact that she died was simply mentioned on the occasion of her husband's third marriage in April 1326.
Joan of Burgundy, also known as Joan the Lame, was Queen of France as the first wife of King Philip VI. Joan ruled as regent while her husband fought on military campaigns during the Hundred Years' War during the years 1340, 1345–1346 and 1347.
Joan II, Countess of Burgundy, was Queen of France by marriage to Philip V of France; she was also ruling Countess of Burgundy from 1303 to 1330 and ruling Countess of Artois in 1329–1330.
Blanche of France, nun at Longchamp Abbey, was the fourth and youngest daughter of King Philip V of France and Countess Joan II of Burgundy.
Philip of Aunay or Aulnay, was a Norman knight implicated in a French royal scandal known as the Tour de Nesle affair.
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