Mary of Burgundy

THE FIRST DIAMOND ENGAGEMENT RING

Maria inherited the Duchy of Burgundy, in eastern France, at the age of twenty, when her father died and she reigned from 1477 until 1482. Burgundy was a rich, prosperous and extensive land, which is the reason why Mary’s hand was required by many suitors (it was no coincidence that she received her first marriage proposal at the tender age of 5, from the future king Ferdinand of Aragon). During her life, she received several proposals, but she chose as her husband the Archduke Maximilian of Hapsburg, future Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire with the name of Maximilian I.

History tells us that Mary’s father had lost an important battle and he was eager to regain strength. The Hapsburgs had great military expertise, but little money. So the union of the two families would have been a winning move. To put some pressure on Mary, her father sent her a letter requesting her approval on this marriage and so did Maximilian.

In 1476, the Archduke sent his marriage proposal to Mary’s father along with the first diamond engagement ring that history ever recorded:

Credits: www.voltairediamonds.co.uk

In addition to this first engagement ring, Maximilian gave Mary a second ring as a wedding gift.

The yellow gold ring was covered with many small baguette-cut diamonds set to form the letter M (initial of Mary and Maximilian). It is said that with this gift, the Archduke dealt a severe blow to the already troubled family finances, but in retrospect we can affirm that his audacity won.

When they married in 1477, the Archduke was just 18 years old and Mary was 20. They had three children: Philip the Fair (who became Mary’s successor), Margaret (who married the Prince of Asturias) and Francis, who died at the tender age of three months. Unfortunately this was not the only misfortune of the young family: at the age of 25, Mary died as a consequence of a terrible horse accident.

Maximilian became the Holy Roman Emperor and married twice more (with Anna, Duchess of Britain, and with Bianca Maria Sforza), but never again gave a diamond ring to any other woman.

Some years ago, during a holiday in Bruges, I had the pleasure of visiting the Diamonds Museum, which houses a copy of the ring that Maximilian gave to Mary.

Here below my photos follow:

Bruges, Diamonds Museum. Photo by Samantha Scilimati

It is such a beautiful jewel!

Sources:

www.engagementringbible.com

Maria Mary Borgogna Burgundy diamante diamond ring anello