Marguerite of Navarre

Marguerite de Navarre lived during the early years of the Reformation. She was born in 1492 and lived until 1549. Marguerite’s father died when she was nearly four. As royalty in the French court, she received an excellent education. She learned Latin, Spanish, Hebrew, French, and English. She studied the Scriptures and classical philosophy. She was a lifelong scholar and studied the writings of Luther and Plato. She corresponded with Calvin, one of the leading intellectuals of the Reformation.

Her own writings reveal how gifted she was. Marguerite wrote many plays and poems, but she is best remembered by Medieval literature enthusiasts for her collection of tales, the Heptameron, which used the device of storytelling much like Boccaccio’s Decameron. Queen Marguerite’s original intention had apparently been to write 100 stories, told over 10 days, exactly as in the Decameron, but her work was unfinished when she died. It contained seventy-two stories, hence the Heptameron.

At her father’s death, her 1 year-old brother became the heir to the throne of France. (Francis I) When he began his rule in 1515, she would take advantage of this relationship to provide crucial protection for those who were being persecuted for their religious beliefs during the Reformation in France. She would never publicly claim to be a Lutheran or a Calvinist. Hoping for reform within the church, she remained outwardly a Catholic all her life. But her actions during the French Reformation proved that her private convictions were with the Reformers. She would raise her daughter, Jeanne, to be in sympathy with the Protestants. In a previous story on this Blog, you can read about Jeanne d’Albret’s fervent dedication to the cause of the Reformation. Queen Jeanne would openly engage herself with the Protestant faith and fight on the side of the French Reformers.

Marguerite became the most influential woman in France. She was her brother’s confidant and helper. Francis made her a duchess, elevating her to a level in the peerage that was unusual in France, and she exercised unprecedented authority by his side. When Francis I was captured by the Spanish king after the Battle of Pavia in 1525, she negotiated his release. Two months after this, Marguerite’s first husband died.

She then married Henry d”Albret. They had two children. Her son, Jean, died at an early age. Her daughter Jeanne, born in 1528, was her only surviving child.

In addition to her other writings, Marguerite wrote religious poetry. Her first published poem, the Mirror of the Sinful Soul, was written in 1531. It was translated into English in 1544 by an eleven-year-old English princess named Elizabeth, the future Queen Elizabeth 1. Her mother, Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, owned the original French manuscript. Anne was also a devout Reformer. You will recall that she was one of the wives who was beheaded by Henry VIII. Elizabeth was only a toddler when her mother was beheaded.

It is interesting to think about all of these women living in the same time period. Did they know each other? Many did. Anne Boleyn had been a lady-in-waiting in Marguerite’s court. There, Anne would have had her reformist beliefs strengthened. Her daughter, Elizabeth would pay a tribute of honor to Queen Marguerite when she translated her poem a few years later. Marguerite was also a good friend to Marie Dentiere. She became godmother to one of Marie’s daughters. Queen Katherine Parr, last wife of Henry VIII was on the throne in the mid 1540’s. She was also devoutly attached to the Reformed faith.

The Sarbonne condemned Marguerite’s poem regardless of her rank. But her brother King Francis saw to the continuation of the publication. Though he differed from her in his religious beliefs, he was close to Marguerite and supported her.

The Catholics in France tried to get Marguerite condemned as a heretic. Grave accusations were made against her. She had taken great risks in writing religious materials, but she survived these attacks mostly due to the intervention of her brother Francis. She continued to do what she loved so much – to study theology and religion.

Marguerite was very tolerant of all of the religions. She was a mediator between Roman Catholics and Protestants. She has been criticized for not taking a firm stand for one faith or the other, but she wanted to see reform in the Catholic church. She thought that it would be helpful if the people had the Scriptures and other written materials in their own language and she invested her time and money in accomplishing this. The Catholic church had been against putting their writings in the vernacular. Marguerite was also deeply concerned about the abuses of the corrupt clerics in the Catholic church, especially against women. She used her position of authority to call for an end to these practices.

At the same time she did her best to protect the Reformers and dissuaded her brother, Francis I from repressive measures as long as she could. Condemned “heretics” were tortured and burned at the stake. Many fled to Navarre for her protection.  Her influence radiated throughout France. Every free person, Catholic or Protestant looked upon her as protectoress and ideal.

Marguerite was the embodiment of charity. She would walk unescorted, (for a queen in those days this was unheard of) in the streets of Navarre, allowing any one to approach her and would listen at first hand to their stories of poverty. She called herself ‘The Prime Minister of the Poor’. Henry d’Albret, her husband, believed in what she was doing, even to the extent of setting up a public works system that became a model for France. Together he and Marguerite financed the education of needy students. Marguerite founded hospitals, engaged in charity, and visited her territories, making herself available to her people. Truly a remarkable woman used by God.

During the Reformation, God used many remarkable women. Elsewhere on this Blog you can read about Anne Askew, the martyr, Marie Dentiere, the writer, and Katharine Parr, the last wife of Henry VIII. These women could have led frivolous, selfish lives, but they did not. They risked their fortunes, love of their families, and even their lives for the cause of freedom to worship God in a way that they believed was true.

Marguerite was one of the most important women during the Reformation not only in France but elsewhere in Europe. She deserves recognition for standing on the courage of her convictions. She did not take sides with either the Catholics or the Protestants, because she believed that real reform begins with the individual. She believed that theology was interesting, but holiness and integrity were the real objects of one’s spiritual journey. She devoted her life to encouraging others to know and follow the Lord.