Speculation aiming at enlargings of territories or at alliances with or against friendly or belligerent neighbours was in older times a question of utmost importance for most rulers. Favourable marriage connections were as important that negotiations often started already at the birth of a child. To be born in such families was a fate especially dangerous for girls, who often became victims of their father’s or a brother’s struggles for power. Still at this time also princesses had to live in the evil-smelling rooms of rather primitive castles, from which the men usually fled at first opportunity for different outdoor occupations. And there were for highborn girls not many other choices than to marry the men who were chosen for them over their heads, or maybe to live for the rest of their lives as nuns in some convent. Among many in history remembered very unlucky victims of this policy were e g daughters of the powerful Elector Albrecht ´Achilles´ of Brandenburg. Margaret, born in 1453, became 13-year-old a nun in Hof, in 1476 abbess. She has left for posterity the sad written words that she could not remember to have had one single happy day in her life. The faith of the obstinate Barbara, born in 1464, was as bad that she even ended in prison for some time.

Well-known is the faith of Jacoba of Bavaria, born in 1401 as the only legitimate child of Count Wilhelm VI of Holland. She seems to have grown up rather happily in Le Quesnoy in Hainault. Already as a small child she was appointed the future wife of Jean, a French prince who was sent to grow up together with her in Hainault. When Jean’s elder brother Louis died on 18 December 1415, Jean became Dauphin of France for a couple of years until also he died young in 1417. Only a few weeks later Jacoba’s father died unexpectedly. This changed totally and forever Jacoba’s life. Unhappy marriages ending in divorces are parts of a dramatic history of wars and failed alliances trying in vain to secure the inheritance of her father’s power as ruler of Holland, Zeeland and Hainault. With all the territories lost to Philip of Burgundy she married at last the respected Netherlandish nobleman Frank van Borselen but died only a few years later at the age of 35.

One of the decisive steps of Jacoba’s life is recalled in a very interesting book-illumination called the Prayor on the Shore, now only known from a photograph taken before a part of the so-called Turin-Milan Book of Hours was destroyed by fire. This painting has been discussed endlessly by scholars. There is, however, now some consensus that the principal figure in the foreground would be Count Wilhelm VI parading on a white horse, greeted by his subserviantly smiling daughter Jacoba. Prominence is also given to a man following just after Wilhelm on a horse in capriole. This not very representative man is recognizable as Jean IV, Duke of Brabant, indicating that this illumination in retrospect may refer to the very short period between the death of Dauphin Jean on 5 April and the death of Wilhelm on 30 May 1417. This would be well in line with the tradition that it was Jacoba’s father who before his death had decided that she should marry the not very likeable Duke Jean of Brabant in order to be able to maintain power.

Count Wilhelm may have been well aware that his only 16-year-old daughter was going to get into severe troubles when aspiring to inherit him, a succession that the Roman German King Sigismund shortly before had opposed, frightening that with Jacoba married to the French Prince Jean an essential part of the Roman German Empire might get lost to France. The illumination is of very high quality and shows beside the obstinate Count Wilhelm several other well characterized persons. The suggestive landscape is dominated by a view of the coast and a menacing English Channel, which the annoyed Wilhelm had crossed shortly before when leaving England in haste after un unsuccessful meeting with Sigismund in London.

Of special importance for the understanding of the illumination is the man to the right, who bows to Wilhelm and places on the ground the hat, which had become a symbol of the against Wilhelm opposing Cabeljou party. This man must be Jan, Herr van Arkel, the once powerful owner of a great part of Holland but then taken prisoner by Wilhelm. The great number of dogs in the lower part of the illumination may refer both to Wilhelm’s known interest in breeding dogs and to his later death after having been bitten by a dog.

There has been a lot of speculation about where the Turin-Milan Book of Hours ended up after the death of the earlier owner Jean, Duke of Berry, because some of the illuminations, e g the Prayor on the Shore, are ascribed to the so-called Hand G, often thought to be Jan van Eyck. One possibility is of course, that the book in 1415 was inherited by Jacoba’s consort Jean. When also this prince died in 1417, the book may have followed his widow Jacoba back to the court of Hainault-Holland.

Jan van Eyck may also be the author of another highly interesting painting, usually referred to as the Fishing Party (Musée du Louvre, Paris; reproduction on page 7). It deals in retrospect with all the speculative and real marriage alliances of which Jacoba was the subject as a possible sole heiress of very rich territories. A group of eight women at the left side of the painting is separated by a small brook from a group of nine men on the right side. The young lady nearest the brook seems to be Jacoba, throwing out a fishing-rod. In the first row of men on the other side of the brook a very distinguished dressed young man is doing the same. He may be Prince Jean of Touraine, who was early chosen for Jacoba.

The left side of the painting seems to be in moonlight and the right side to be in full sunshine, possibly indicating a difference between dreaming women and realistic men. Among the women there is a second lady prominent, probably Jacoba’s mother Margaret of Burgundy. She is standing as opposite a man on the right side who may be her consort, Jacoba’s father Wilhelm, one of the few who had received the Order of the Garter.

Before the rest of the group on the right side there is an extremely well-dressed and somewhat oversized man, in whom most scholars have seen John of Bavaria, elected Bishop of Liège until he retired in 1417. He then married Elisabeth of Görlitz, heiress of Luxembourg. He took in opposition to Jacoba power of Holland after the death of Count Wilhelm and had, at least from August 1422, Jan van Eyck as his court painter in The Hague. This supposed John of Bavaria seems to be represented as a kind of stage-manager dominating the events, maybe indicating that he was considered to have paid great interest in displacing Jacoba. John was, however, murdered already at the beginning of 1425, said to have been poisoned from a book of the size of a walnut, which points at the possibility that Jan van Eyck, the master of creating in miniature, may have assisted in the making of some piece of pastry. Suspected as murderers were Jacoba and her mother Margaret.

Behind the young man supposed to be Jean of Touraine there stands a second man with a fishing-rod who may be Albert of Bavaria, often forgotten when thinking of Jacoba’s traitors. He was born in just the same year as Jacoba. In history he is best known for his secret marriage for love to Agnes Bernauer, a lady of not even noble birth who the young man’s angry father arranged to be murdered in 1435. The identity of the next man in the row is more obscure. It is, however, probably meant that we in him shall see Humfried, Duke of Gloucester, to whom Jacoba was married in 1423 and got divorced from in 1426. Another possibility is that he would be Humfried’s brother John, Duke of Bedford, because there is a big likeness to the excellent portrait of Duke John in the so-called Bedford Hours (British Library, London) and a marriage may have been discussed in 1422 after Jacoba’s divorce from Jean of Brabant. In the collection of drawings called Recueil d’Arras (Bibliothèque municipale, Arras) this man is, probably by mistake, presented as Dauphin Jean of Touraine.

The man beside him is, however, well-known, the already mentioned Duke Jean of Brabant, to whom Jacoba was married on 4 April 1418 and divorced from in 1422. To the right there is an interesting couple, probably father and son. The young man may be Wilhelm van Arkel, whom Jacoba is said to have loved. But he belonged to the Van Arkels, opponents of her father and important members of the Cabeljou party. When he was killed in the battle of Gorichem on 1 December 1417, Jacoba is reported to have mourned his death deeply.

Wilhelm’s father Jan van Arkel seems to be shown as still in power, because he is wearing his Cabeljou hat proudly on his head. He is dressed in black and the artist has distinguished him by what looks like a single golden ornament, probably of a certain significance at the time. Farthest to the right of the row stands a man who for his typical headdress may be recognizable as Jacoba’s last consort Frank van Borselen. Their secret marriage in the summer of 1432 was later followed by a Church marriage in 1434, when Frank was raised to Count of Ostrevant. 1432 may therefore be the very first possible year for the painting of Fishing Party, strengthening the supposition that it may be a work by Jan van Eyck for Philip the Good in ironic remembrance of some of the intriguing steps that preceded this duke’s raise to power.

A much bigger painting with a great many representations of nobles at the court of Philip the Good has not at all got the interest that it is worth. It measures 161 x 117 cm and is painted on panel. It was bought to Versailles in 1898 and replaced there a weaker version on canvas of about the same size, now in Dijon (Musée des Beaux-Arts). It has been assumed that these two paintings should be copies of an original mentioned to have hung in Pardo near Madrid, a castle built by Carlos I in the 1540s and later destroyed by fire. The real original may, however, have been a painting by Jan van Eyck that once hung or was painted on a wall in Philip the Good’s later destroyed castle in Hesdin.

The Versailles painting is in the art literature interpreted both as a Hawking Party and as a Jardin d’amours, not being aware that a document in Archives départementales du Nord in Lille mentions a version called Plaidoyerie d’amours, in modern French Plaidoirie d’amours, perhaps nearest meaning Marriage Speculations. In his book about Philip the Good (London 1970) R Vaughan lists it among Philip’s payments for the very rich outfit of the 17-year-old bride Agnes of Cleves, when this girl at the end of the 1430s was sent by boat to marry Prince Carlos of Viana, a grandson of King Carlos III of Navarre, the later also known as the book-collecting Charles le Noble. As Philip of Burgundy had no legitimate daughters of his own, he used his sisters and the daughters of his sister Marie - since 1406 married to Duke Adolph of Cleves - when trying to establish connections to other prominent rulers. Prince Carlos of Viana did, however, never inherit Navarre. When King Carlos died in 1425 he was followed by Prince Carlos’s sister Blanche, since 1420 married to King Juan II of Aragon. Agnes of Cleves died as early as in 1448, and the painting she had got was probably the copy that was destroyed in Pardo.

The Plaidoirie d’amours in Versailles is reported to have been acquired from some place near Karlsruhe. It may be a copy that Philip the Good had included in the outfit of Margaret of Cleves, the eldest of the Cleves sisters, when she on 11 May 1433 was married in Cologne to Wilhelm II, Duke of Bavaria-Munich. Duke Wilhelm died as early as in 1435. This copy may then have accompanied Margaret in her second marriage in 1441 to Ulrich V, Duke of Württemberg, and have hung in the castle of Karlsruhe. It is thought that the painting in Versailles may be an invention by the brilliant Jan van Eyck. The quality of this version shows, however, that it is the question of a copy.

Up to now the Plaidoirie d’amours has been interpreted wrongly, assuming that it could not have been painted later than in 1431, as none is wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece. This Order was founded by Philip of Burgundy at his marriage to Isabelle of Portugal in 1430 but the only one in the painting who seems to have been a member of the Order is Duke Philip, and he wears here instead some other decoration which seems to resemble a decoration that Adolph of Cleves has on his breast in a drawing that shows a scene from the Council of Constance in 1418, when Adolph was raised to duke. It may, however, be possible to date the happening that has inspired the painting of Plaidoirie d´amours not only to the year but also to the day, even to the time of the day.

What we see is once again an ironic representation of the power game of marriages in ruling families. The original may have been painted on a wall in the castle of Hesdin, where the central scene probably took place. Time may have been the evening of 13 July 1432, with full or nearly full moon, the day of St Margaret. One seems to be celebrating the engagement between the old Duke Wilhelm of Bavaria-Munich and the 16-year-old Duchess Margaret of Cleves, a girl who actually was next in turn to be used - and for a second time. She must now have been free from an earlier engagement that probably was the reason why her younger sister Catherine in 1423 had been chosen to be engaged to her later consort Duke Arnold of Guelders.

No less than 36 nobles, men, women and children, are represented on the main part of the painting, probably all characterized by Van Eyck with details meant to make it possible for contemporary viewers to identify who they are meant to be. Most of them were probably more or less well-known by the probably already at this time widely travelled artist. As performing in a theatre play several newly marriage constellations are presented as if frozen in an atmosphere of irony, bordering to disgust and even fear. In the main scene we may see the 57-year-old Wilhelm of Bavaria-Munich grasping the arm of Margaret of Cleves, while this teenaged girl turns herself childishly away as if looking for help from the assisting Duchess Isabella of Portugal, married to Philip of Burgundy, a lady in history known for her religiosity. Isabella, however, pushes Margaret back toward Duke Wilhelm, also he a person in history honored for his piety although known to have been living most of his life unmarried and with at least one known illegitimate child.

There may be little doubt that it is the powerful Philip of Burgundy who is sitting at the table in the center, turning his back to the distasteful proposal scene as if this is a proceeding arranged by his wife and for which he is not willing to take responsibility. In the circle around Duke Philip we probably see nearest and with their backs to the viewer the future bride’s parents, Duke Adolph of Cleves and Marie of Burgundy, a sister of Philip. Duke Adolph touches with his one foot lightly the dress of Marie, by which the artist in an ironic way hints that this well-known way of illustrating power over someone in this case is only illusory, that in reality it is Philip the Good who rules the Duchy of Cleves through his sister, a lady who with her figure seems to well illustrate a characterizing of Philip’s sisters as all ´smooth as owls´.

The couple next to Adolph and Marie is most likely meant to show John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford, married in 1423 to Philip’s sister Anne, a lady mentioned as a close friend of Duchess Isabella. This supposed Anne of Burgundy is looking directly towards the viewer in a way as if she is involved in the arrangements, maybe also indicating that it is she who has commissioned a painting in memory of the happening. From the excellent portrait of her kneeling before St Anne in the Bedford Hours (British Library, London) we can learn, that she may have had artistic interests and that she at least was acquainted with the workshop of the so-called Bedford Master. In this circle there also stands a man who unlike all the others is dressed in black. He is adorned with two golden chains and is reading or singing from a parchment in his hands. Perhaps this man is meant to be Jean Germain, a very eloquent cleric who had come to play an important part at the court of Burgundy. For many years he was president of the Order of the Golden Fleece, and he was as a diplomat very active at the Council of Basel. He seems to be characterized with an air of distance, and if so it may tell us that Van Eyck painted the Plaidoirie d’amours at a time when Jean Germain had returned to the southern part of Burgundy.

Two young nobles behind the central table serve refreshments. They may be Charles and John of Nevers, two boys who were educated at Philip’s court. Another young man, probably Margaret’s brother John of Cleves, also he educated at the court of Burgundy, poses behind Philip the Good as a herald with a raised sword. The scene is probably meant to take place in moonlight, showing that it is the question of an ironic fantasy, quite as the artist’s Fishing Party. The moon was in fact nearly full on the day of St Margaret in 1432. Philip the Good was, however, probably not present in Hesdin just this very day, as he is thought to have arrived from Ghent not until on 21 July, maybe a reason for the artist to represent him with his back to the proposal scene.

The suitor Wilhelm of Bavaria-Munich was by Emperor Sigismund actually appointed Protector of the Council of Basel. He had got permission to travel to Cologne for the mentioned purpose of peace discussions with Duke Adolph of Berg, Count Palatine Stephan of Simmern and other nobles in the area. It is possible that he travelled together with the later so famous Nicolaus Cusanus (See the article Early Netherlandish Portrait Paintings Reconsidered), a man who is mentioned to have been commissioned by Wilhelm earlier in the summer to negotiate with Adolph of Cleves for a marriage to Margaret of Cleves. Another member of the travelling group may have been Oswald von Wolkenstein. He was at this time in the service of Sigismund as a diplomat. It may have been now that Jan van Eyck painted a small passport portrait of him in oil that later on seems to have been used for the portrait on parchment that is still preserved in Wolkenstein’s manuscript in Innsbruck.

It is hardly likely that all of the many nobles represented in Plaidoirie d´amours were present in person when the engagement scene took place, except the nearest relatives of the Dukes of Burgundy and Cleves. The artist has allowed himself to present a vision in dreamlike moonlight, where well-known couples act like on a stage. In the couple riding in direction of the viewer the lady, who is holding a falcon, seems to show Margaret’s younger sister Catherine of Cleves, the duchess who has given her name to the so-called Hours of Catherine of Cleves. Her consort is then Duke Arnold of Guelders, to whom Catherine was married in 1430. Arnold, who also is holding a falcon, is recognizable as the same man that we see on the famous double portrait in the National Gallery in London, which so long has been interpreted to show ´an Arnolfini´ (See the article Jan van Eyck’s Portrait of Arnold, Duke of Guelders, and the Arnolfini Misunderstandings).

In the group just below this riding couple we may recognize Philip of Burgundy’s eldest sister Margaret, who of cause early had been used in marriage speculations. Already as a child she was chosen to marry Dauphin Charles of France. When this prince died young in 1400, she was instead engagaged in 1403 to the next Dauphin of France, Louis, in history most known as Duke Louis of Guyenne. Their marriage took place on 31 August 1404 but was probably not fulfilled until in 1412. The not very respected Dauphin Louis died already on 18 December 1415, thought to have been poisoned. If it really is Duchess Margaret of Burgundy that we see, the red glove on her right hand would indicate that she was considered to have been involved in Dauphin Louis’s early death. In 1423 Margaret was used for a third diplomatic purpose and married to Arthur III of Brittany, Duke of Richemont. Most likely it is this man who beside her is entering his horse. The mysterious red man to the right of the painting is represented as full of menace.

In a waving row we see another 13 persons, most of them paired off men and women. The lady in the couple in the lower left corner wears a headdress resembling the mode at the court of Bavaria. Maybe it is meant that we here shall see the already mentioned low-ranked Agnes Bernauer. If so her consort would be Duke Albert of Bavaria, thought to have been one of Jacoba’s suitors. The pair above this rumoured couple is more mysterious, because the man looks to be menacing. He is the only one who is armed, and his weapon is a short dagger of the length of ´only one foot´, as the weapon is described by which a certain Gilles Poselles is told to have tried to kill Philip of Burgundy at a tournament in Hainault in 1433. This man was, however, instead captured and brutally put to death. I do not feel convinced that this murder attempt really took place as late as in 1433. R Vaughan mentions e g the year 1427.

The lady in the couple above the menacing man is no doubt meant to be Jacoba. She is looking at the man as if encouraging him to make use of his dagger on the hated tyrant Duke Philip, whose presence at the table seems to keep all the others half arrested by fear, even those who are dancing. The red glove on Jacoba’s right hand is probably meant to describe her as a murderess, for which she and her mother Margaret of Burgundy were suspected since the sudden death of John of Bavaria in The Hague in 1425. Jacoba’s consort here seems to be Frank van Borselen, to whom she had earlier in 1432 been married secretely without the consent of Philip. Next in the row we probably see Duchess Isabelle, who in 1431 had inherited Lorraine. She is married to Duke René of Anjou at her side, a man kept imprisoned by Philip of Burgundy for several years after that he had been captured at the battle of Bulgnéville. In 1432, however, he was temporarily released from May 1 for a period of at first one year, later further prolonged.

To the right of them we may see Margaret of Savoy wearing a carnation, and her fiancée Louis of Anjou, a brother of René. They were to be married some weeks later on 31 August. Louis is looking with interest at a lady in the group of three to the left of him, as if unsure if he has really made his most favourable choice. The lady who seems to interest him may be meant to show Marie of Harcourt, the old lady who in 1426 had been married to the young Duke Rupert of Berg. She has a black mourning band on her right arm; Rupert had died some months earlier on 2 August 1431. Marie is mentioned to have died ´after 1427´ and was probably still in life in 1432. Between the two ladies in this group we may see the very actively power-seeking Adolph, Duke of Berg, a man known to be used to dressing with tinkling bells on his jacket. If so the lady to the right of him may be his wife since 1430, Elisabeth of Bavaria, a sister of the mentioned Duke Albert.

Copyright © 2001-2007 Knut Andersson. All rights reserved.