The marriage contract between Mary and the Duke of Orleans, signed and sealed by Francis I., and illustrated with their portraits, was dated 18th August 1527, and is still preserved in the Record Office.[62] This interesting document is beautifully illuminated on vellum, with a gold background and a border composed of Tudor roses, _fleurs de lys_ and cupids. Francis I., representing the god Hymen, in a dress of the period, holds a hand of the bride and of the bridegroom. The arms of England and France are on either side of him. The Princess Mary, a youthful figure in a white dress covered with flowers, and wearing a blue coif with a gold border, stands on the left of Francis; the Duke of Orleans, a young boy in doublet and trunk hose, is on his right. The peace, thus momentarily secured at the cost of immense sacrifices on the part of France, afforded a brief space in which to prepare for a fresh outbreak of hostilities. Francis and Henry were henceforth allies, and the course of affairs in England tended to cement their bond, and to widen the breach between them and the house of Austria. Henry sent Francis the Garter, and received the order of St. Michael in exchange.[63] FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 43: Harl. MS. 6807, f. 3, Brit. Mus.] [Footnote 44: Sanuto Diaries, vol. xxxix., p. 356.] [Footnote 45: Reading Abbey, 18th August 1525, Record Office.] [Footnote 46: Sampson to Cardinal Wolsey. Cotton MS. Titus B. i., 314, Brit. Mus.] [Footnote 47: R. Brereton of Chester to W. Brereton, Groom of the King’s Privy Chamber, 25th August 1526, Record Office.] [Footnote 48: Cotton MS. Vit. C. i., f. 36, Brit. Mus.] [Footnote 49: Cotton MS. Vesp. F. xiii., f. 72, Brit. Mus. Mary wrote a beautiful, firm, and clear hand, a specimen of which is reproduced at page 192 of this volume.] [Footnote 50: _The Life of Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria_, by Henry Clifford. Transcribed from the ancient MS. in the possession of Lord Dormer by Canon Estcourt, and edited by the Rev. Joseph Stevenson, p. 82.] [Footnote 51: _Privy Purse Expenses of the Princess Mary_, Introductory Memoir.] [Footnote 52: For this prayer and Mary’s translation see Appendix A.] [Footnote 53: Sanuto Diaries, vol. xliii., p. 55. Spinelli to the Doge, 11th Sept. 1526.] [Footnote 54: Masters’ MS., f. 113.] [Footnote 55: Dodieu’s _Narrative_.] [Footnote 56: Sanuto Diaries, vol. xliv., p. 97.] [Footnote 57: This view proved to be the more correct, when, twenty-seven years later, a formidable insurrection was raised to prevent Mary’s marriage with Philip of Spain.] [Footnote 58: Sanuto Diaries, vol. xlv., pp. 194-198.] [Footnote 59: _Venetian Calendar_, vol. iv., 105.] [Footnote 60: Wolsey to Henry VIII., State Papers, i., 205, 206, 207, 230, 231, 270, R.O.] [Footnote 61: Brewer, _Cal._, vol. iv., pt. ii., 3350.] [Footnote 62: Diplomatic Contracts, box 39, No. 1112, Record Office.] [Footnote 63: Sanuto Diaries, vol. xlvi., p. 118.] CHAPTER III. THE BEGINNING OF STRIFE.