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Today, I am handing over the reins to fellow Sapere Books author, Rozsa Gaston. She has been honored with several awards for her historical fiction set in the 16th century, and her next book features Anne Boleyn at Margaret of Austria's court. I love the idea of this unique look at a familiar figure!
Welcome, Rozsa!
~ Samantha
Margaret of Austria: Guest Post by Rozsa Gaston
For Women’s History Month it is my pleasure to present MARGARET OF AUSTRIA (1480-1530), one of the most towering figures of the northern European Renaissance.
Margaret knew, or was related to, most of early 16th century Europe’s rulers. Her action-packed childhood prepared her for a lifetime of leadership as ruler of the Burgundian-Habsburg Netherlands from 1507-1530, and as one of the most important treaty negotiators of her time.
Here are some of the major figures in Margaret’s life:
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor – Margaret’s father.
Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor – Margaret’s nephew and ward. Margaret was Charles V’s legal guardian until he was 15 years old.
Henry VIII of England – Margaret’s trade partner. English sheep provided the wool for Flanders’ cloth industry. Flanders, in the Low Countries, was world renowned from the 12th century on for its fine cloth textiles and its tapestries.
Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s queen – Margaret’s former sister-in-law.
Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s 2nd queen – Margaret’s maid-of-honor from 1513-1514 at her court of Savoy in Mechelen in the Burgundian-Habsburg Low Countries (now Belgium).
Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy – Margaret’s brother.
Juana of Castile, a.k.a. Juana the Mad – daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain was Philip’s wife and Margaret’s sister-in-law.
Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain – Margaret’s former in-laws.
Louise of Savoy – former sister-in-law & mother of Francis I of France, Louise was the power behind the throne during her son’s reign and twice served as regent of France.
Margaret of Austria was born in 1480 in Brussels, the only daughter of the heads of two of Europe’s top dynastic houses: the House of Burgundy and the House of Habsburg. Her mother, Mary of Burgundy, a.k.a. Mary the Rich, was ruler of Burgundy, the only child of Burgundy’s last duke, Charles the Rash. Margaret’s father was Maximilian I of Austria, head of the House of Habsburg and later to become Holy Roman Emperor.
Margaret lost her mother in a riding accident at age two. One year later her father contracted with the French king, Louis XI, known as the Spider King, to wed Margaret to Louis’ son and heir, the future Charles VIII of France. Margaret was sent to France at age 3 to be raised at the French court to prepare her to become Queen of France one day.
Margaret’s statue towers over the main market square of Mechelen, Belgium, 18 miles, or 29 kilometers, north of Brussels. Erected in 1849, it was made by sculptor Joseph Tuerlinckx.
Margaret’s palace in Mechelen was known as the Court of Savoy. It was the first Renaissance palace built in the Low Countries and is a main tourist destination.
Margaret’s native tongue was French. She ruled the Burgundian-Habsburg Netherlands for 23 years, except for two years, from 1515-1517. During those two years, her nephew and ward, the Habsburg prince who would become Charles V, came of age, and took control of his realm.
But after two years of seeing how difficult it was to manage the Netherlands’ 17 different provinces all with conflicting economic interests, Charles handed back control to his aunt Margaret, who was a master at negotiating trade agreements and at putting together coalitions for the greater good of the Netherlands’ economic prosperity.
Margaret’s travels by the age of twenty-seven made her one of Europe’s most cosmopolitan Renaissance figures.
Jan. 10, 1480 – Margaret of Austria is born in Brussels.
Age 3 – She’s sent to France to be raised under Anne of France or Anne de Beaujeu to become its queen one day.
Age 11 – Margaret is jilted by Charles VIII of France, who marries Anne of Brittany instead.
Age 13 – Margaret returns to Flanders in the Low Countries and waits for her father to make another match for her.
Age 17 – Margaret goes to Spain to marry Isabella and Ferdinand’s son Juan, Prince of Asturias, heir to the Spanish throne. He dies six months after they marry, leaving her pregnant. She gives birth to a stillborn daughter.
Ages 19-21 – Back in Flanders in the Low Countries, Margaret awaits her father’s next marriage choice for her.
Age 21 – Margaret moves to Savoy when luck arrives with her marriage to Philibert, Duke of Savoy, a childhood friend who becomes the love of her life.
Age 24 – Luck departs when Philibert dies.
Age 26 – Margaret’s life changes when her brother, Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy, dies in Spain, possibly of poisoning, and Margaret takes over rulership of the Burgundian-Habsburg Netherlands. She also takes over guardianship of Philip’s children, the future Charles V and his three sisters, who are now functionally orphaned, as their father has died and their mother, Juana of Castile, also known as Juana the Mad, has gone insane and remains in Spain.
Ages 27-50 – Margaret lives in Mechelen where she rules the Netherlands and conducts the government from her palace, the Court of Savoy. She becomes one of Europe’s most important patrons of the arts.
Age 49 – Margaret negotiates the 1529 Treaty of Cambrai, also known as The Ladies’ Peace with Louise of Savoy, ending war in Europe between Margaret’s nephew, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and Louise of Savoy’s son, Francis I of France.
Age 50 – Margaret dies. Two years later her body is transported to Brou, France, where she is buried next to her 2nd husband Philibert of Savoy in the church of the Royal Monastery at Brou, a masterpiece of flamboyant Gothic architecture that Margaret commissioned and helped to design.
Margaret was born in 1480 just as the feudal age was giving way to the Renaissance. She died in 1530 as the Reformation began its sweep through Europe. She brought Renaissance art and humanist learning to her court in the Habsburg Netherlands with visitors such as Dutch theologian Erasmus and German painter Albrecht Durer.
One of the most influential historical figures of the northern European Renaissance, Margaret of Austria set a precedent for female rule in the Netherlands that continues to this day.
Discover more of Margaret’s story in my book on her life, Margaret of Austria, with forewords by noted historian Susan Abernethy of The Freelance Writer’s blog and European Women in History, and Géza von Habsburg, Archduke of Austria.
ROZSA GASTON is a historical fiction author who writes books on women who reach for what they want out of life.
She is the author of Margaret of Austria, First Place Winner of the 𝟮𝟬𝟮3 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗨𝗖𝗘𝗥 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 for Early Historical Fiction, the Anne of Brittany Series: Anne and Charles; Anne and Louis, 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 of the 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟴 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞𝗟𝗬 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲; Anne and Louis: Rulers and Lovers; and Anne and Louis Forever Bound, 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 of the 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗨𝗖𝗘𝗥 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 for Early Historical Fiction.
Gaston studied European history at Yale and received her master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia. She worked at Institutional Investor magazine, then as a columnist for The Westchester Guardian.
Her book on Anne Boleyn at Margaret of Austria's Court comes out with Sapere Books in August 2025. She lives in Bronxville, New York with her family.
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