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Chapter 10: 1524, August
"Haven't you heard the news?"
"What news?"
"Francis I and the Republic of Venice are going against Charles V, the Papal States, and our king!"
"In war?"
"Oh, of course in war! I wonder why though."
Katherine shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe it's due to the fact that the animosity rose over the election of Charles as Emperor and from Pope Leo X's need to ally with Charles against Martin Luther."
Jane Parker nodded her head. "Possibly, but I don't know politics."
"What woman does?" Katherine asked, jokingly.
"You do," Jane said seriously.
Katherine rolled her eyes. "Come off that, Jane. Now, tell me how you know all this."
"Well, my husband and your cousin do not the secret of whispering."
Both females laughed, forgetting the serious matter they were just gossiping about.
By 1518, the peace that had prevailed in Europe after the Battle of Marignano was beginning to crumble. The major powers (France, England, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire) were outwardly friendly, pledging by the Treaty of London to come to the aid of any of the signatories that was attacked and to combine against any nation that broke the peace. They were divided, however, on the question of the Imperial succession. The Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I, intending for a Habsburg to succeed him, began to campaign on behalf of Charles of Spain, while Francis put himself forward as an alternate candidate. At the same time, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire were forced to deal with the rising influence of Martin Luther, who found support among some Imperial nobles, while Francis was faced with Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who interposed himself into the quarrels of the continent in an attempt to increase both England's influence and his own.
Maximilian's death in 1519 brought the Imperial election to the forefront of European politics. Pope Leo X, threatened by the presence of Spanish troops a mere forty miles from the Vatican, supported the French candidacy. The prince-electors themselves, with the exception of Frederick of Saxony, who refused to countenance the campaigning, promised their support to both candidates at once. Before his death, Maximilian had already promised sums of 500,000 florins to the Electors in exchange for their votes, but Francis offered up to three million, and Charles retaliated by borrowing vast sums from the Fuggers. The final outcome, however, was not determined by the exorbitant bribes, which included Leo promising to make the Archbishop of Mainz his permanent legate. The general outrage of the populace at the idea of a French Emperor gave the Electors pause, and when Charles put an army in the field near Frankfurt, where they were meeting, the Electors obligingly voted for him. He was crowned Holy Roman Emperor on 23 October 1520, by which point he already controlled both the Spanish crown and the hereditary Burgundian lands in the Low Countries.
Cardinal Wolsey, hoping to increase Henry VIII's influence on the continent, offered the services of England as a mediator for the various disputes between Francis and Charles. Henry and Francis staged an extravagant meeting at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Immediately afterwards, Wolsey entertained Charles in Calais. Following the meetings, Wolsey, concerned mainly with improving his own stature in preparation for the next papal conclave, proceeded to stage a hollow arbitration conference at Calais, which lasted until April 1522 to no practical effect.
In December, the French began to plan for war. Francis did not wish to openly attack Charles because Henry had announced his intention to intervene against the first party to break the tenuous peace. Instead, he turned to more covert support for incursions into Imperial and Spanish territory. One attack would be made on the Meuse River, under the leadership of Robert de la Marck. Simultaneously, a French-Navarrese army would advance through Navarre after reconquering St-Jean-Pied-de-Port. The expedition was nominally led by the 18-year-old Navarrese king Henry d'Albret, whose kingdom had been invaded by Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1512, but the army, was effectively commanded by André de Foix and funded and equipped by the French. The French designs quickly proved flawed as the intervention of Henry of Nassau drove back the Meuse offensive; and although de Foix was initially successful in seizing Pamplona, he was driven from Navarre after being defeated at the Battle of Esquiroz on 30 June 1521.
Charles was meanwhile preoccupied with the issue of Martin Luther, whom he confronted at the Diet of Worms in March 1521. The Emperor, who did not know German, viewed Catholicism as a natural way of binding the diverse principalities of the Holy Roman Empire to him. Since Pope Leo X, for his part, was unwilling to tolerate such open defiance of his own authority, he and the Emperor were forced to support one another against Luther, who was now backed by Frederick of Saxony and Franz von Sickingen. On 25 May 1521, Charles and Cardinal Girolamo Aleandro, the Papal nuncio, proclaimed the Edict of Worms against Luther. Simultaneously, the Emperor promised the Pope the restoration of Parma and Piacenza to the Medici and of Milan to the Sforza. Leo, needing the Imperial mandate for his campaign against what he viewed as a dangerous heresy, promised to assist in expelling the French from Lombardy, leaving Francis with only the Republic of Venice for an ally.
In June, Imperial armies under Henry of Nassau invaded the north of France, razing the cities of Ardres and Mouzon and besieging Tournai. They were delayed by the dogged resistance of the French, led by Pierre Terrail, Seigneur de Bayard and Anne de Montmorency, during the Siege of Mezieres, which gave Francis time to gather an army to confront the attack. On 22 October 1521, Francis encountered the main Imperial army, which was commanded by Charles V himself, near Valenciennes. Despite the urging of Charles de Bourbon, Francis hesitated to attack, which allowed Charles time to retreat. When the French were finally ready to advance, the start of heavy rains prevented an effective pursuit and the Imperial forces were able to escape without a battle. Shortly afterwards, French-Navarrese troops under Bonnivet and Claude of Lorraine seized the key city of Fuenterrabia, at the mouth of the Bidasoa River on the Franco-Spanish border, following a protracted series of maneuvers, providing the French with an advantageous foothold in northern Spain that would remain in their hands for the next two years.
By November, the French situation had deteriorated considerably. Charles, Henry VIII, and the Pope signed an alliance against Francis on 28 November. Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, the French governor of Milan, was tasked with resisting the Imperial and Papal forces; he was outmatched by Prospero Colonna, however, and by late November had been forced out of Milan and had retreated to a ring of towns around the Adda River. There, Lautrec was reinforced by the arrival of fresh Swiss mercenaries; but, having no money available to pay them, he gave in to their demands to engage the Imperial forces immediately. On 27 April 1522, he attacked Colonna's combined Imperial and Papal army near Milan at the Battle of Bicocca. Lautrec had planned to use his superiority in artillery to his advantage, but the Swiss, impatient to engage the enemy, masked his guns and charged against the entrenched Spanish arquebusiers. In the resulting melee, the Swiss were badly mauled by the Spanish under Fernando d'Avalos, Marquess of Pescara, and by a force of landsknechts commanded by Georg Frundsberg. Their morale broken, the Swiss returned to their cantons; Lautrec, left with too few troops to continue the campaign, abandoned Lombardy entirely. Colonna and d'Avalos, left unopposed, proceeded to besiege Genoa, capturing the city on 30 May.
Jane finished sewing her fifth shirt while Katherine was still on her second on. The Parker girl, now a Boleyn, eyed her sister-in-law momentarily. She knew very well that the Boleyn siblings did not like her or her family that well. Jane did not the Boleyn siblings at all, especially Anne, but Katherine had grown on her. Once the marriage of George and Jane was announced, the unwilling couple was forced to spend time together, and that also meant Jane had to spend time with George's sisters. Everyone knew that the Boleyn siblings were very close, you never saw one without another, and Jane wasn't sure if she could handle that, for she did want to have time alone with George, but she quickly took a liking to Katherine. Much to George's liking, his wife and little sister got along splendidly, and that took a few pounds of stress and worry off his shoulders.
"How is Mary?"
Katherine stopped sewing and looked down at the deformed clothing. "She is fine."
"Just fine?" Jane pressed. "I apologize for prying, but George does not tell me much."
"He has his reasons for doing so."
Jane sighed, "Please, Katherine, just tell me." She stole a quick glance at Queen Catherine, making sure that the aging queen did not hear her. "How is Mary and the baby?"
"The doctor says that the baby is strong and healthy from what he can tell." Katherine exhaled, shuttering lightly. "Mary on the other hand, well, he fears that she may not make it. She is weak and sick, and there is a possibility that she may not be able to give birth properly."
"What will they do if that happens?"
"The doctor told us that when a mother cannot push she and the baby are dying," Katherine said, and she paused.
"And what does that mean?"
Katherine's gaze was glossy, tears pooled to the corner of her eyes. "They will have to cut her open, in order to save the child, or try to at least."
"Oh my," Jane gasped, placing her hand over her mouth. "That is terrible."
"And Mary will surly die then." Katherine's voice cracked.
Jane was about to speak, but Katherine interrupted her. "And I will hate that baby so much if that is to happen. It may sound cruel, but I could not love that child knowing that it is the reason for my sister's death," Katherine laughed humorlessly. "I shall hate Mary too, possibly damn her soul, and the king as well."
Jane placed a hand on Katherine's knee and softly squeezed it. "That is a natural response. When someone you love dies, you want answers, you want to know why they couldn't be saved, and in turn of that, we go and point our fingers. Whether it be at God, the devil, or a person, we put blame something."
"You don't understand," Katherine whispered. "I pray every night for that child die, and I hope it does."
-Page Break-
"Midwifery is an ancient profession, with a proud tradition of providing care for women and babies during pregnancy and childbirth," Elizabeth Boleyn said as she stood against the bookcase that was collecting dust.
Margaret Shelton nodded her head. "Did you know that in ancient mythology goddesses were present at deliveries?"
Katherine looked between her mother and cousin, confusion clear on her face. "Not that this isn't interesting," she said sarcastically. "But why are you telling me all this?"
Margaret looked over at Elizabeth who still didn't answer Katherine's question. "The earliest birth attendants were women."
"Mother, please," Katherine sighed. Ever since the news of Mary's pregnancy and Anne's exile, Elizabeth Boleyn was not the same.
Katherine had actually missed Anne and Mary being around, because that now meant that Katherine was the only child Elizabeth could sink her claws into. Katherine did not realize that her mother enjoyed controlling everything she did. Since she was the youngest, Elizabeth normally would do certain things with Anne or Mary, and the simple things would be done with Katherine, who months ago would have complained that her mother favored her sisters over her. Anne and Mary can take up that spot again, for Katherine hated being the favorite.
"I have spoken with Mary," Elizabeth said. "The baby will be born soon, and that means Mary needs a midwife."
"I too have spoken with Mary," Margaret said. "And she has told me who she wants to help her."
Katherine raised an eyebrow, not liking the stares she was given. "Oh," she scoffed. "You cannot mean me. That's insane! I do not know the first thing about childbirth, let alone a child itself. I have never held a child or attended a birth, and I am perfectly fine with that."
"In order for Mary to be relaxed and have a smooth birth, we must accommodate to her needs." Margaret smiled. "Besides, you'll do fine."
Katherine rolled her eyes. A midwife provides advice, care and support for women and their babies during pregnancy, labor and the early postnatal period. They help women make their own decisions about the care and services they access. They care for newborn children, providing health education and parenting support immediately after delivery, until care is transferred to a health visitor. Midwives are personally responsible for the health of both mother and child and only refer to obstetricians if there are medical complications.
Katherine knew Mary was making a big mistake. Katherine had not a single advice to give to a mother, and she did not see it as her duty to care and support the woman and her child. Decisions were to be made between the husband and wife, not between the midwife and mother. Katherine depised children, they whined far too much for her liking, and they constantly asked questions as they grew. They were annoying pest to her.
She knew that she wouldn't be able to help assist Mary during labor, but from the looks her mother was giving her, Katherine knew she had no choice.
"The laboring woman should be accompanied by her mother or other female relative – whoever is her choosing."
Midwife Katherine, lol.
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