MISSING IN ACTION? | WHAT WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT THE EARLY LIVES OF MARY OF HUNGARY AND ANNE JAGIELLO
by Carina Siegl
Pdf of the article is available here
The case
In 1515, the “First Viennese Congress” (more aptly: Fürstentag) culminated in the marriage of Emperor Maximilian’s granddaughter Mary to Louis, the son of King Vladislav II of Hungary, as well as Vladislav’s daughter Anne to —a notorious particularity— one of Maximilian’s grandsons, either Charles or Ferdinand. Years of negotiations preceded the union of the two dynasties which was intended to bolster the defence against the expanding Ottoman Empire. To tie the knot even more tightly, Maximilian also adopted his future grandson-in-law, Louis, thereby making him a potential heir to the throne.[1]
The Viennese “Double Wedding” and its dynastic background. © C. Siegl.
In terms of political events, 1515 was the pivotal year; for the two royal couples, however, the “double wedding” in Vienna was more of a “double engagement”. The spouses were still too young and, for lack of a decision between the grandsons Charles and Ferdinand, Maximilian himself acted as proxy for the bridegroom in the ceremony. The real weddings took place years later in 1521 (Anne and Ferdinand) and 1522 (Mary and Louis). Still, leaving their respective homes in Mechelen and Buda in 1514/15 to be married (or engaged) in Vienna was a biographical rupture for the princesses as they would not return for a long time.
Albrecht Dürer, Die Wiener Doppelhochzeit 1515 (1515), Vienna, Albertina, Inv. no. DG1935/975/12
At the time of the great ceremony in Vienna in 1515, Anne was twelve and Mary nine years old. In 1516, the princesses and both of their courts travelled to Steyr, Salzburg and eventually Innsbruck where they lived until leaving for the wedding in Linz in 1521. The decision to unite the two courts and send them westwards is most likely to have been made in response to King Vladislav’s death in 1516 which was expected to result in power struggles in Hungary that could also pose a threat to the princesses.[2] Considering that Emperor Maximilian was always short of money, there might also have been financial reasons.[3]
The mystery
Given the princesses’ important roles in dynastic politics, on the one hand, and ad hoc decisions continuously being made about their whereabouts, on the other hand, it is astonishing that 1516 is also the year that source material and research literature on Mary and Anne as well as their court(s) become scarce.[4] However, as a matter of course these six years in their early lives must have had an impact not only on their personalities and education, but also on their social networks which were essential to rulership.
The accomplishments in their later lives are testimony to the education they must have received when they were younger: As wife to the Archduke, King and eventually Emperor Ferdinand I, Anne was to be entrusted with important political tasks, and was also the author of a religious work entitled Clypeus pietatis.[5] Mary, on the other hand, became regent of Hungary after the early death of her husband Louis in 1526, and in 1531, she succeeded her aunt Margaret as regent of the Habsburg Netherlands. Both were known to be very learned, proficient in multiple languages and important patrons of the arts.[6]
The evidence (and lack thereof)
The central corpus of source material are the records of the chancellery at the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv in Vienna and at the Tiroler Landesarchiv. They include court ordinances, lists of staff, equipment and provision. From these documents we know who the male and female heads of the households were and who else surrounded the princesses. Regarding their daily lives, court ordinances sketch an idealised routine. However, considering the fact that the years in Innsbruck must have been a time of preparation for their future dynastic roles, it is surprising how little is known about what they were taught, and which principles and role models shaped their education. What we can safely say about the time between 1515 and 1521 is that both princesses continued their studies of multiple languages (German, French, Hungarian and Czech). Also, we can extrapolate from contemporary literature on education which ideas were predominant at the time.
N. Riegel and R. Munzel, Digital reconstruction of Innsbruck castle, in Maximilian I. Jubiläumsausstellung. Online. URL: https://www.innsbruck.info/blog/de/kunst-kultur/maximilian-i-ausstellungen-im-jubilaumsjahr/. © N. Riegel and R. Munzel.
What happened before their shared court arrived in Innsbruck in 1517, however? The large entourage travelling through Steyr and Salzburg must have required lots of planning and needed plenty of resources. Yet, so far, no records have been found in local archives on these issues. Since detailed directives for the journey from Innsbruck to Linz in 1521 have survived at the Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv,[7] it seems likely that there existed similar documents for the previous travels.
The detective’s work
Clearly, discovering this strange lack of sources is intriguing for historians. Hence, in addition to searching for new material, we might also investigate why Mary and Anne seem to go “missing in action” during those years. I suggest that there are several factors at play. First, a “gender data gap”[8]: The early lives and education of Charles and Ferdinand are much more densely documented and have received more attention from scholars. Second, this “gender data gap” seems to be particularly effective regarding early stages of life. In her later capacity as regent of the Netherlands, Mary features as prominently in the sources as in research literature. During childhood, however, it seems possible that male heirs received more attention as they were more likely to assume powerful positions in the future.
Third, taking into account the differences between the Habsburg and Jagiellonian siblings, the role of gender is less easy to pinpoint. On the one hand, Louis’ early death in 1526 created a situation different to the Habsburg side since a) he simply did not have the time to achieve the historical importance of his peers and b) his absence created a space that the newly widowed Mary had to and was able to fill. On the other hand, there is a “language skill gap” on the part of scholars, which is why we cannot yet comment on the density of material on the early life of Louis.[9]
The team effort
My “educated guess” is that princesses do not just go “missing in action”. There are definitely many letters, notes and other documents out there that will answer some of the questions I raised in this text. It will take the collaboration of scholars of different skills to solve this puzzle and, to end on an optimistic note, “ManMAX” is the project that makes this invaluable type of research possible.
Left: Hans Maler, Portrait of Anne of Hungary (before 1519), Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Inv. Nr. 1937.2
Right: Hans Maler, Portrait of Archduchess Mary (before 1519), Coburg, Kunstsammlungen der Veste Coburg, Sammlung Georg Schäfer, Inv. no. M. 425
Carina Siegl will give a talk about her research on Anne Jagiello and Mary of Hungary on November 20th, 2024, at the University of Vienna (click here for more information).
Footnotes
[1] I. Tringli, “Der Weg des ungarischen Hofes zur Doppelheirat 1515”, in B. Dybaś and I. Tringli, Das Wiener Fürstentreffen von 1515. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Habsburgisch-Jagiellonischen Doppelvermählung, Budapest, 2019, p. 257.
[2] St. Krause, Die Porträts von Hans Maler: Studien zum frühneuzeitlichen Standesporträt, Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Vienna, 2008, p. 41.
[3] On the Emperor’s struggles to provide for the princesses’ court in Innsbruck: G. Heiß, Königin Maria von Ungarn und Böhmen: Ihr Leben und ihre wirtschaftlichen Interessen in Österreich, Ungarn und Böhmen (1505–1558), vol. 2, Unpublished dissertation, University of Vienna, 1971, p. 422-426.
[4] The most systematic and dense accounts are found in: Heiß, Königin Maria von Ungarn und Böhmen, vol. 1-2; O. Réthelyi, Mary of Hungary in Court Context 1521-1531, Unpublished dissertation, CEU Budapest, 2010; and J. Kerkhoff, Maria van Hongarije en haar hof 1505-1558: tot plichtsbetrachting uitverkoren, Hilversum, 2008.
[5] J. Schmidt, “Lateinisches Linz”, Mitteilungen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung, 60:1-3 (1952), p. 206-219.
[6] D. Eichberger, “Like Aunt Like Niece? Assessing the Value of Margaret of Austria’s Collection for Mary of Hungary”, in N. Garcia Pérez, ed., Mary of Hungary, Renaissance Patron and Collector. Gender, Art and Culture, Turnhout, 2021, p. 43-58.
[7] Stat baider kunigin rays und überantwortung zu iren gemahl(e)n, 3 May 1521, Worms, Österreichisches Staatsarchiv (ÖStA), Hofkammerarchiv (HKA), Nieder-Österreichische Herrschaftsakten, W-61/A-36, fol.17-44.
[8] S. Juen, “Feminismus, Algorithmen, Gender-Data-Gap und was das alles mit Bibliotheks- und Informationswissenschaft zu tun hat”, LIBREAS. Library Ideas, 39 (2021). Doi:10.18452/23448.
[9] Regarding the language gap, Orsolya Réthelyi’s work on Mary’s courts needs to be mentioned as an especially important bridge between German and Hungarian speaking research.
Header Image Credits: Left: Hans Maler, Portrait of Anne of Hungary (before 1519), Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Inv. Nr. 1937.2; Right: Hans Maler, Portrait of Archduchess Mary (before 1519), Coburg, Kunstsammlungen der Veste Coburg, Sammlung Georg Schäfer, Inv. no. M. 425.
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carinasiegl (October 16, 2024). MISSING IN ACTION? | WHAT WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT THE EARLY LIVES OF MARY OF HUNGARY AND ANNE JAGIELLO. Managing Maximilian (1493-1519) - A blog on Persona, Politics, and Personnel through the Lens of Digital Prosopography at the time of Maximilian of Habsburg. Retrieved November 4, 2024 from https://doi.org/10.58079/12imy