MARGARET OP NAVARRE
JI70
MARIE ANTOINETTE
soon proved herself superior to her husband in force of character and executive qualities, and the real ruler. In 1455 began the Wars of the Roses, which finally robbed Margaret of her throne and son and husband. (See ENGLAND, HENRY VI, LANCASTER and YORK.) Margaret fell into the hands of the Yorkists in 1471 and was imprisoned in the Tower until ransomed by Louis XI of France. Margaret sought refuge in France and died on Aug. 25, 1482, having spent 20 years in war and four in prison.
Margaret of Navarre (nd-vdrf), sister of Francis I of France, was born at Angou-leme, April n, 1492. She was carefully taught and very early became popular because of her charm of manner and strength of mind. After the death of her first husband she married Henri of Navarre, and so became the grandmother of Henry IV. She encouraged farming, arts and learning, and courageously sheltered reformers like Marot and Bonaventure. Her writings include interesting letters, poems called The Mar-guerites of the Marguerite and the noted Hep-tameron, stories modeled on the Decameron of Boccaccio, which most scholars believe to be the joint work of Margaret, Bonaventure and other men. See the Life by^ Miss Freer and her Letters. She died at Bigorre on Dec. 21,1549.
Margaret, queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, was the daughter of Waldemar IV of Denmark and wife of Haakon VI of Norway. She was born in 1353. By the death of her father she became regent of Denmark in the name of her son, who soon died, and then of her grandnephew Eric of Pomerania. The death of her husband made her ruler of Norway (1388), and the dissatisfied subjects of Albert, king of Sweden, asked her to take that country too. She sent an army into Sweden which took Albert and his son prisoners. Sweden was wholly conquered, and in 1397 the famous union of Kalmar was agreed upon, whereby the three kingdoms were to stay forever at peace under one king, though each was to keep its own laws and customs. Margaret also got possession of Lapland and part of Finland. She was a woman of great energy and strong will, and ruled with a firm hand. She has been called the Semiramis of the North. She died on Oct. 28, 1412.
Maria Louisa (ma're'loo-etf), empress of the French, second wife of Napoleon I, was the daughter of Emperor Francis I of Austria. She was born on Dec. 12, 1791, and married Napoleon, after the divorce of Josephine, on April 2, 181 o. She bore a son to the emperor on March 20, 1811, who was called king of Rome. At the beginning of the campaign of 1813 she was appointed by the emperor regent during his absence, but with many restrictions upon her authority. After the overthrow of Napoleon she made
Schpnbrunn her home, where she remained until 1816. She received, by the peace of Paris, the duchies of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla. After the death of Napoleon she married Count Neipperg. She died at Vienna on Dec. 17, 1847.
Maria Theresa (ma-re'dte-re'sa}, empress of Austria, was the daughter of Charles VI, and was born at Vienna, May 13, 1717. Her father got the powers of Europe to sign the pragmatic sanction which gave the right of succession to the throne to the women as well as the men of the royal line. When she carne to the throne in 1740, she found the government without money, the people discontented and the army weak; while Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Sardinia put forward claims to all or parts of her dominions* Frederick the Great poured his armies into Silesia; Spain laid hands on Austrian Italy; and the Bavarians invaded Bohemia and threatened Vienna. The young queen was saved by the chivalrous faithfulness of the Hungarians, to whose loyalty she appealed with her baby son in, her arms^ and by her own courage and energy. The War of the Austrian Succession ended with the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, by which Maria lost territory to Prussia, Spam and Sardinia, but had her rights recognized and also those of her husband f Francis, grand-duke of Tuscany who was crowned emperor. In the years of peace that followed she fostered farming, manufactures and trade, nearly doubled the national revenues and at the same time lessened the taxes and strengthened her armies. But the loss of Silesia rankled, and she began the Seven Years' War with Frederick the Great, which only served to strengthen his hold on the lost province. She then endeavored to strengthen the country in every way, bettered the condition of the peasants, ameliorated criminal punishments, and founded schools and charitable societies. By the first partition of Poland she got Galicia and Lodomeria and obtained Bukowina from Turkey. Maria Theresa was majestic and winning, and had the undaunted spirit of a true queen. She won the love of her subjects and raised Austria from a wretched condition to power. She died at Vienna on Nov. 29,1780. See Maria Theresa and Frederick the Great by the Due de Broglie and narratives of the Seven Years' War.
Mar'iazell', a famous place of pilgrimage in Austria, is in Styria, 60 miles southwest of Vienna. The image of the Virgin, which draws thousands of pilgrims yearly, is enshrined in a magnificent church, built in 1644.
Marie Antoinette (m&r#&n'tw&'fiet), Josephe Jeanne, the most ill-fated of the queens of France, was the fourth daughter of Maria Theresa of Austria, and was born at Vienna, Nov. 2, 1755. She was married
