Montiel, and laid them with regal honours in the cathedral of Seville, Constance of Castille returned with her husband to England, and for several years survived the marriage of her daughter and the Prince of Asturias. Meantime John of Gaunt was, in some measure, consoled for his disappointment as regarded the crown to which he aspired by a grant which the King of England made to him of the Duchy of Aquitaine and all its dependencies. About the same time he was sent to France to treat for peace with the uncle of the French king. During his absence from England, in the year 1394, the duchess breathed her last.*

It appears that Constance of Castille, while figuring for twenty-two years as Duchess of Lancaster, enjoyed in England high reputation as a woman and a wife; but it cannot, unfortunately, be asserted that John of Gaunt was 'a model husband.' It has been said of him that he was learned, elegant, and brilliant, and with something of the genius which enabled the first Edward to tower above all contemporaries; but it is certain that he could not boast of the conjugal fidelity which gave his illustrious ancestor so much homely dignity in the eyes of the English people. In fact, he had, during the life of Constance and her predecessor, Blanche of Lancaster, entertained as his mistress a woman named Katherine Swynford, under circumstances which made the connection peculiarly scandalous; and no sooner did he return from the Continent, on finding himself

This year,' says Walsingham,' was notable for splendid funerals. Constance, Duchess of Lancaster, a lady of great innocency of life, died then; and her daughter-in-law, the Countess of Hereford, wife of Henry of Bolingbroke, and mother of his children, died in the bloom of life. She was followed to the tomb by Isabel, Duchess of York, a lady noted for her over-fineness and delicacy, yet at her death showing much penitence for her pestilent vanities. But the grief for all these deaths by no means equalled that of the king for his own queen, Anne, whom he loved even to madness.'

a second time a widower than he hurried to Lincoln, where Katherine was residing, and formally espoused her.

The daughter of a knight of Hainault who had figured in the household of Queen Philippa, Katherine Ruet, having been brought up at court, became the wife of Sir Hugh Swynford, an English knight, and found her way into John of Gaunt's family as governess to his daughter.

'The Duke of Lancaster,' says Froissart, 'had three children by her previous to his marriage, two sons and a daughter. From affection for these children, the duke married their mother, to the great astonishment of France and England; for Katherine Swynford was of base extraction in comparison to his two former duchesses, Blanche and Constance. When this marriage was announced to the ladies of high rank in England, such as the Duchess of Gloucester, the Countess of Derby, the Countess of Arundel, and others connected with the royal family, they were greatly shocked, and thought the duke much to blame. They said, "he had sadly disgraced himself by thus marrying his concubine;" and added that, "since it was so, she would be the second lady in the kingdom, and the queen would be dishonourably accompanied by her; but that, for their parts, they would leave her to do the honour alone, for they would never enter any place where she was."

'Those who were the most outrageous on the subject were the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. They considered the Duke of Lancaster a doting fool for thus marrying his concubine, and declared they would never honour his lady by calling her sister. The Duke of York made light of the matter, for he lived chiefly with the king and his brother of Lancaster. . . . Katherine Ruet, however, remained Duchess of Lancaster and the second lady in England as long as she lived. She was a lady accustomed to honours, for she had been brought up at court during her youth, and the duke fondly loved the

P

children he had by her, as he showed during his life and at his death.'

While the wives of the Plantagenet princes were expressing their contempt for John of Gaunt's new duchess, Constance of Castille reposed in peace. It was not in St. Paul's, however, as sometimes stated, that her mortal remains were laid, but in the church of our Lady at Leicester. In the year 1394, 'on the Sunday next before the Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul,' she was committed to the tomb; and English chroniclers, while recording her death, paid their leave to her memory by describing her as a lady of great innocency of life.'

227

Isabel of Bavaria, Queen of France.

N the 17th of July, 1385, a royal wedding was celebrated

King of France, a promising stripling of sixteen. The bride was Isabel of Bavaria, the young and beautiful daughter of Duke Stephen and his Italian spouse, Thaddée of Milan.

It was the autumn of 1380, when Charles the Fifth, after having, with the aid of Du Guesclin and Oliver de Clisson, constable of France, recovered most of the French provinces from the English, expired at Beauté-sur-Marne. Before yielding up his soul, the wary monarch, not without apprehensions of another Cressy or Poictiers, expressed much anxiety that his son should strengthen his position by wedding one of the princesses of Germany; and when young Charles became king, the Dukes of Anjou, Berry, and Burgundy, who seized on the government of the kingdom, recognised the propriety of finding a suitable bride. for their royal nephew.

Of course, as Charles was only twelve at the time of his accession, his uncles were in no particular haste to negotiate a matrimonial treaty on his behalf, and some years elapsed before any steps were taken. At length an opportunity presented itself. While engaged in suppressing a revolt of the Flemings, and happening to be before Bourbourg with Duke Frederick of Bavaria, who had come to their assistance, they bethought them of the matter, and over their wine opened the business.

'We want a wife for the King of France,' said they; 'and we should prefer marrying him to Bavaria, rather than elsewhere. Have you no daughters?'

'I have none myself,' answered Frederick; 'but my brother, Duke Stephen of Bavaria, has a very handsome one.'

'And how old is she?' demanded the king's uncles. 'Between thirteen and fourteen,' replied the duke. 'Then,' said the princes, 'that is what we want. Do you, on your return to Bavaria, talk with your brother, and conduct your niece, as if in pilgrimage, to St. John, at Amiens, and the king shall be placed beside her. Should he find her handsome, we hope he will be desirous of her, for he loves beauty; and if he appear eager for her, she shall be Queen of France.'

On returning to Bavaria, Frederick repeated to his brother, Duke Stephen, the conversation which he had held with the French princes. Stephen, however, spoke with great caution, and gave little encouragement.

'Fair brother,' said he to Frederick, 'I believe such speeches have been made to you, and that my daughter would be very fortunate if such a high honour as to become Queen of France should fall to her lot. But the distance is great from hence; and it is a matter of great consideration to attempt the making of a queen. I should be exceedingly vexed if, after having carried my daughter to France, she should be returned to me; and I should rather marry her at my leisure, nearer home.'

The uncles of Charles, when this answer was reported to them, thought Duke Stephen too indifferent about the alliance, and looked in other directions for a princess worthy of figuring as Queen of France. They talked of a match with a daughter of the Duke of Lorraine, and afterwards of one with Katherine, daughter of John of Gaunt. But nothing was done; and when, in 1385, the Duke of Burgundy was at Cambray, uniting his son, the Count of