Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/393

CATHARINE OF ARAGON. 335 CATHARINE OF VALOIS. King and <.iliiet'n of Araguii and la-lilv. She was born in December. 14S5. She occupies a promi- nent place in English history, not for what she herself was, but for what she was the occasion of — the Reformation. In pursuance of his foreign policy, Henry VII. negotiated u matri- monial alliance between Catharine and his son . -Arthur, Prince of Wales. She came to England in loOl. and on Xoveniber 14, a few days after the jjublic betrothal, the marriage was cele- brated. Xever a wife, except in name, Catharine was left a widow by the death of Arthur on April 2, 1502. A few months later, a second marriage was projected for her by her father- in-law, with his second son, Henry, as yet only a boy of 12 years. The Pope's dispensation en- abling such near relatives to marry was obtained in 1.304, and the marriage took place in June, loOO. immediately after Henry's accession to the crown as Henry VIII. Although Henry was very far from being a model Imsband, he appears to have treated Queen Catharine, who bore him several children, with respect, until, some years after, he conceived a passion for Anne Boleyn (q.v.), by whom he was attracted as early as 1522. He professed doubts as to the validity of his marriage, and in 152G a collusive suit was secretly brought before Wolsey. Noth- ing came of this; but in 1527 the question of divorce was openly raised. Pope Clement VII. refused to declare the marriage void at Henry's request through the latter's secretary. Knight, whom the King had sent to Eome for that purpose. He, however, granted a commission to Canipeggio and Wolsey, to inipiire into the validity of the marriage; but before these prelates Queen Catharine refused to plead, and appealed to the Pope. The King craved judg- ment. The legates cited the Queen, and declaring her contumacious when she did not appear, went on with the cause; but Cardinal Campeggio, anxious only to stay the proceedings when the King expected a decree, prorogued the court un- til a future day. The King consulted the uni- versities of Europe, many of which declared the marriage invalid. The Pope now summoned the King to Rome, but Henry haughtily refused to appear either in person or by deputy, for he maintained that such obedience would be to sacrifice the prerogatives of his crown, and, .set- ting the Poi>e at defiance, he married Anne Boleyn, January 25, 15.33. On the 10th of the following ilay Cranmer de(!larcd the first mar- riage void, and on ilarch 2.3, 1534, Pope Clement pronounced it valid, thus making the separation of England from Rome complete. Queen Catha- rine did not quit the kingdom, but was closely guarded at Ampthill, in Bedfordshire, afterwards at Buckden, and then at Kimbolton Castle, Hunt- ingdonshire, until her death on January 7, 1536. In the meantime, althovigli absolutely friendless and harassed by ceaseless persecution, she dis- played heroic courage and suri)rising mental powers, defeating every base design of the King and his agents to induce her to sign away the rights of herself and her daughter Alary. Catha- rine was educated under her mother's direction, and was a fair Latin scholar. Her character was unimpeachable, and her disposition sweet and gentle. Consult: The Caloidfirs of filate Papers for the reign, edited by Brewer and Gairdner (1880-00), and the Spanish series, edited by IJergenroth and Gayango, Vol. II. (18C8)'; Brewer and (iairdncr, Letters and I'uijcis of the lieign of Henry Vtll. (London, 1802); Hall, Chronicle (London, 1809) ; Pocock, History of the Reformation (new ed., London. 1873) : The Divorce, 1027-33 (2 vols., Oxford, 1870): I^ Grand, History of the Divorce of Uenry VIII. and Catharine, with Burnet's answer (Lomlon, ll)!)0) ; Nicholas Uarpsiield, Treatise on the Pre- tended Dirorce. ed, by Pocock (London, 1878); Froude, The Divorce (Xew York, 1891) ; Froude, History of England, Vols. I.-II. (Xew York, 1871); Cavendish, Life of Cardinal Wolsey, 2d ed. (London, 1827); Dixon, Two Queens (Lon- don, 1873-74) ; Lingard, History of England, Vol. VI. (Boston, 1853-55) ; and Brewer, Reign of Henry YIII., ed. by Gairdner (2 vols., London, 1884). An excellent bibliography of the divorce controversy is provided by lluth. Marriage of Sear Kin. 2d ed. (London and X'cw York, 1S87). CATHARINE OF BRAGANZA, bra-giin'za ( llJoS-170d) . Queen of Charles II. of England. She was the daughter of John IV.. Duke of Bra- ganza and King of Portugal. Her mother, a woman of abilitj', who governed Portugal for several years after the death of her husband, foresaw the Restoration in England, and pro- posed the marriage of Catharine with Charles to gain an ally against Spain. That jjower tried to prevent the marriage: Portugal gave a dowry of £300,000 and the t0A-iis of Tangier and Bom- bay, besides many privileges of trade. After the marriage at Plymouth, in ilay, 1002, Charles was pleased with the innocence and sweet dis- position of his bride, who had been carefully trained in a convent. But he soon introduced mistresses into the Court, and. when the Queen expressed indignation, lectured lier upon the duty of submission. After repeated humiliations of this kind, she passively acquiesced, and Charles, fickle as he was. showed her a certain attention and afl'eetion for which she was grate- ful. He shielded her from the calumny and plots of anti-Romish agitators, who charged her with a design to poison the King and propagate the Catholic faith in England. She truly mourned iiis death. After a life of seclusion during the reign of James II. and the first years of William III., she returned to Portugal in ili92, and acted as regent to her brother, Dora Pedro, until her sudden death, December 31, 1705. Consult: Strickland, Lives of the Queens, Vol. IV. (London, 1SS8) ; Jesse, Memoirs of the Court of England, Vol. III. (London, 1876) ; Ranke, History of England, Prineipally in the Sen iifrnitli Cr,itiini (Oxford, 1875). CATHARINE OF VALOIS, va'lwa', or of FKANtE (1401-38). Queen of Henry V. of Eng- land. She was the daughter of Charles VI. (q.v.). When she was 12 years old. Henry pro- posed to marry her and demanded as a dowry the provinces coded by the Treaty of Bretigny (q.v.), together -with X'ormandy. The proposi- tion was rejected, but Henry soon afterwards in- vaded France and forced a compliance with his terms. When he married Catharine at Troves, Jiuie 2, 1420, he received immediate possession of the provinces claimed, the regency of France during the life of his father-in-law, and the re- version of the sovereignly after the death of Charles. On February 23. 1421, Catharine was crowned in London, and on December of that year she became the mother of Henry VI. The next year she was in France, where her husband