Charles and Ferdinand had
four sisters, and they all four made great marriages, three of which
were very useful to the Austrian house. The eldest of these ladies,
Eleanora, was married to Emanuel, king of Portugal,--a man old enough to
be her father, with some years to spare,--being sacrificed to the
ambition of her brother Charles, for she was attached to the Count
Palatine. Becoming a widow, she was compelled to give her hand to that
popular rascal, Francis I. of France, when her brother wished to
strengthen the treaty he made with his "good brother" at Madrid, and
which the Frenchman had arranged to disregard even before he signed it.
The second sister, Isabella, married Christian II., king of Denmark,
when she was but fourteen, and died at twenty-four. Mary, the third
sister, became the wife of Louis II., king of Hungary and Bohemia, and
last of the Yagellons. The fourth sister, Catherine, married John III.,
king of Portugal. It was the marriage of the third sister, Mary, that,
in connection with his own marriage, had the greatest effect on the
fortunes of her brother Ferdinand, as his wife was the sister of Louis
II., Mary's husband. Louis was defeated by the Turks at the battle of
Mohacz, in 1526, and lost his life while flying from the field.
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