75

First known and dated artistic commission by Margaret of Austria, the Couronne margaritique manuscript by Jean Lemaire de Belges, which the archduchess gave to her brother Philip the Fair on June 6, 1505, has been studied for its aesthetic value—literary or pictorial. Housed at l’Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Vienne, ÖNB, ms. 3441), the work helped the princess obtain the succession to the indiciaire (chronicler) of Burgundy for Lemaire. This fact makes us curious to study the Couronne based on a particularity of the rhétoriqueurs, to serve the political intentions of the princes that employ them. Does the manuscript show the capacity of a candidate to use diplomatic discourse beyond its single recognized use, consoling the distraught Margaret after the death of her second husband, Philibert II of Savoy ? The archduchess’s change in status, counseled by the seasoned curial Savoyards, opens a field of interpretation. The dialog between text and imagery shows Margaret projected into a role within her home that is different from that assigned by her brother. A last, essential notion confirms Margaret’s intervention in the drafting of her Couronne : up until her final days at Brou, the princess identified with peace, and that peace, supported by arms, constitutes the great achievement of the Christian prince.