despoiled the Bourbonois and Beaujolois. They advanced with displayed banners before the town of Villefranche, in which was the duke of Bourbon and his bastard brother, sir Hector, a very valiant knight, and renowned in war. There was with them a large company of knights and esquires, vassals to the duke, who, seeing the enemy thus boldly advancing, drew up in handsome array and sallied forth to meet them, and the duke himself joined them in their intent to offer battle. A severe skirmish ensued, in which many gallant deeds were done on each side. The bastard of Bourbon distinguished himself much in the command of the light troops, and fought most chivalrously. He was, however, so far intermixed with the enemy that the duke was fearful of his being slain or taken, and, sticking spurs into his horse, cried out to his people, "Push forward! for my brother will be made prisoner unless speedily succoured." Great part of his battalion followed him on the gallop toward the enemy, and the battle was renewed with more energy: many men-at-arms were unhorsed, wounded, and slain at length, the van of the Burgundians, under the command of Aymé de Vitry, was forced to fall back on the main army, which was at a short distance off. The bastard, who had been struck down, was remounted, and returned to the duke. Before that day, no one person had ever heard the duke call him brother.

When the skirmish

About forty were slain on both sides, but very many were wounded. was ended, each party retreated without attempting more; the duke and his men into Villefranche, and the others toward the country of Charolois, destroying everything on their march.

Other parties were sent to Languedoc, Aquitaine, and Poitou, to despoil the countries of the duke of Berry, the count d'Armagnac, and the lord d'Albreth. Sir Guichard Daulphin, master of the king's household, commanded one division; and the two others were under the lord de Heilly, marshal of Aquitaine, and Enguerrand de Bournouville. They did infinite damage to the lands of the aforesaid lords; but one day, as the lord de Heilly was lodged in a large village, called Linieres, he was attacked at day-break by a party of the duke of Berry, who defeated and plundered great part of his men of their horses and baggage: a few were killed and taken; but he and the majority of his army saved themselves by retreating within the castle, which held out for the king.

I must say something of the count de la Marche and the lord de Hambre, who, as I have said, were ordered into the Orleanois. It is true, they might have under their command from five to six thousand combatants, whom they conducted, destroying all the country on their line of march, as far as Yeure-la-Ville and Yeure-le-Chastel. The count de la Marche was quartered in the village of Puchet, and the lord de Hambre in another town. The moment their arrival at Yeure-la-Ville was known in Orleans, where were considerable numbers of men-at-arms for the guard of the country, about six hundred of them were assembled under the command of Barbasan de Gaucourt, sir Galliet de Gaulles, and a knight from Lombardy, together with three hundred archers. They marched all night as secretly as they could to Yeure-la-Ville, to the amount of about a thousand men, under the guidance of such as knew the country well, and where the count was lodged. The count was, however, somehow informed of their intentions, and, having armed his men, posted the greater part of them in and about his lodgings: the others he ordered to keep in a body, and sent to the lord de Hambre to acquaint him with the intelligence he had received, that he might be prepared to come to his assistance, should there be any necessity for it. The count and his men were under arms, waiting for the enemy, the whole of the night; but when day appeared, and no news of the enemy arrived, he was advised to repose himself, and to order his men to their quarters.

Soon after sun-rise, one of the adversary's scouts rode into the town, and seeing that no watch was kept, hastened back to inform his friends, whom he met near the place, of this neglect. They instantly entered the town, shouting, "Vive le roi !" but soon after, crying out "Vive Orleans!" made a general attack on the houses. The greater part hastened to the lodgings of the count, who was preparing to hear mass, and the tumult became very great, for the count and his people fought gallantly; nevertheless, he was conquered, and made prisoner. The whole quarter was carried, and all taken or slain. After this defeat, the count and his men were conducted hastily to Orleans. In the mean time, as the lord de

Hambre was coming to their assistance, he was misled by a man whom he had chosen for his guide, and, on his arrival, found the whole town destroyed, and the count with his men carried off. Notwithstanding his grief for this event, he pursued the enemy with all speed, and, by his activity, overtook the rear; upon which he fell manfully, and defeated part of it. He rescued some of the prisoners; but the count, with about four score (as it was told him), were sent forward as fast as horses could carry them, and were to be confined in the prisons of Orleans. The lord de Hambre was much troubled that he could not rescue him. There were slain in these two affairs from three to four hundred men on both sides, but the greater part were Armagnacs. Among others of the party of the count de Vendôme that were mortally wounded, was Guoit le Gois, eldest son to Thomas le Gois, a capital citizen of Paris, which caused great sorrow to the Parisians.

After this affair, the lord de Hambre assembled, by the king's orders, a larger force than before, and made a very severe war on the duchy of Orleans, and all attached to that party, which caused the country to suffer greatly.

King Louis of Sicily arrived at this time at Paris, from Provence, attended by three hundred men-at-arms well equipped, and was lodged in his own hôtel at Anjou. He was grandly received by the king, the duke of Aquitaine, and the other princes; and united himself with the king and the duke of Burgundy, promising to join their party against the family of Orleans and their adherents. The duchess of Burgundy and her daughter came, nearly at the same time, from Burgundy to the Bois de Vincennes, where the queen and the duchess of Aquitaine resided, who received her with much pleasure. Thence they went to visit the dukes of Aquitaine and Burgundy; and very gay and magnificent feasts were made on their arrival. They remained for a long time with the queen, living at the expense of the king.

At this period, the king of France sent the lord de Dampierre, admiral of France, with other lords, to Boulogne-sur-mer, to meet the English ambassadors who were arrived at Calais. They went together to Leulinghen, where they agreed on a truce between the two crowns for one year; after which the admiral and his companions returned to the king at Paris, where he was holding a grand assembly of prelates and ecclesiastics for the general reformation of the church. The particular object of this assembly was to select proper delegates to send to the holy father the pope, to request that a convenient place might be appointed for the holding of a general council; but, in truth, very little was done, for they could not agree on one single point. Another meeting was therefore fixed upon, when a greater number of churchmen should be summoned to attend it.

The Parisians, having loyally served the king and the duke of Aquitaine in the late wars, obtained, through the means of the duke of Burgundy, that the power of the shrievalty, with all its franchises, of which the city of Paris had been deprived by royal authority, in the month of January, in the year 1382, should be restored to it fully and freely by letters patent from the king. This created very great rejoicings, and much increased the popularity of the duke of Burgundy.

CHAPTER LXXXVI.—THE KING OF FRANCE SENDS AMBASSADORS TO ENGLAND.-THE LORD DE CROY AND THE DUKE OF BOURBON'S CHILDREN OBTAIN THEIR LIBERTY.-OF COUNT WALERAN DE SAINT POL.

At the beginning of the month of May, the duke of Burgundy, with the approbation of the king of France, sent ambassadors to England, namely, the bishop of Arras, the provost of Saint Donas de Bruges, and the provost of Viefville, to treat of a marriage between one of the duke's daughters and the prince of Wales, a matter which had been talked of before*. They found the king of England at Rochester, who honourably entertained them, as did the other princes; but the prince of Wales was particularly attentive, as their mission more immediately concerned him. In the course of a few days, the bishop had fully explained the object of his coming to the king, his sons, and council; and having received a favourable answer, with very handsome presents to himself and his colleagues, they returned by way * Their passport is, in the Fœdera, dated January 11, 1412.

of Dover to Calais, and shortly after arrived at Paris. The ambassadors related, in the presence of the kings of France and Sicily, the dukes of Aquitaine, Burgundy, and Bar, and other great lords of the council, a full detail of their proceedings, and that the king of England and his family were well pleased with their proposals. Upon this, the duke of Burgundy sent orders to his son the count de Charolois, then at Ghent, to repair to Paris, to be present at the festivals of Easter.

At this time, by the intercession of the duchess of Bourbon, daughter to the duke of Berry, with the duke of Orleans and others of that party, the lord de Croy obtained his liberty from the prison in which he had for a considerable time been confined, and was escorted safely to Paris. On his departure, he promised by his faith to make such earnest applications to his lord, the duke of Burgundy, that the duke of Bourbon's children should be delivered. On his arrival at Paris, he was received with joy by the dukes of Aquitaine and Burgundy, especially by the latter; and a few days after, he made the request he had promised, and so successfully that the king and the other lords gave the duke of Bourbon's children their liberty. They were sent for to Paris from the castle of Renty, where they were confined; and they and their attendants were delivered without any ransom to the care of sir John de Croy, who escorted them to the territories of the duke of Berry. The son of sir Mansart du Bos, who had been taken with them, remained prisoner in the castle of Renty.

The lord de Croy was nominated governor of the county of Boulogne and captain of the castle of Braye-sur-Somme, by the king, with the approbation of the duke of Berry and the aforesaid duchess. He also obtained, through the recommendation of the duke of Burgundy, the office of grand butler of France. To sir Peter des Essars, provost of Paris, was given the office of grand master of waters and forests which had been held by count Waleran de St. Pol, who was contented to yield it up.

The count de Saint Pol, now constable of France, ordered a large body of men-at-arms to assemble at Vernon-sur-Seine. In consequence, full two thousand armed with helmets came thither, with the design of making war on the inhabitants of Dreux, and on the count d'Alençon and his people, who had overrun parts of Normandy, near to Rouen, where they had plundered everything they could lay their hands on. To provide for the payment of this force, as well as for others in different parts of the country which the king had employed under various captains, a heavy tax was imposed on the whole kingdom, to be paid at two instalments, the first on the Sunday before Easter, and the second at the end of June following. This affected the poor people very much; and in addition, the pope had granted to the king a full tenth to be levied, through France and Dauphiny, on all the clergy, payable also at two terms,-the one on St. John the Baptist's day, and the other on Allsaints following. The clergy were greatly discontented,—but it was not on that account the less rigorously levied, and commissioners were appointed to receive it from them. The constable set out in the holy week from Paris for Vernon, to take the command of the men-at-arms, and to lead them against the king's enemies.

CHAPTER LXXXVII.—THE DUKES OF BERRY AND OF ORLEANS, WITH OTHERS OF THEIR ADHERENTS, SEND AN EMBASSY TO THE KING OF ENGLAND. THE CONSEQUENCES Of it.

[A.D. 1412.]

Ar the commencement of this year, the dukes of Berry, of Orleans, and of Bourbon, the counts de Vertus, d'Angoulême, d'Alençon, and d'Armagnac, and the lord d'Albreth, calling himself constable of France, with other great lords, their confederates, sent ambassadors to the king of England, with instructions, under their seals, for them to act according to the occasion with the king of England, his children and ministers. As they were journeying through Maine to go to Brittany, and thence to England, they were pursued by the bailiff of Caen in Normandy, who, with the aid of the commonalty, attacked and defeated them, making some of them prisoners, with their sealed instructions and other articles: the rest escaped as well as they could.

After the defeat, the bailiff dispatched an account of it to the king and council at Paris, and sent the sealed instructions. with the other articles, in a leathern bag, well secured. The king assembled a great council at his palace of St. Pol, on the Wednesday after Easter,

CHARLES LORD D'ALBRETH, Constable of France.-From the MS. of Berry, engraved in Montfaucon, Vol. III. for the full examination of these papers. He was present, as were the king of Sicily, the dukes of Aquitaine and Burgundy, the counts de Charolois, de Nevers, and de Mortaigne, the lord Gilles de Bretagne, the chancellor of France, namely, master Henry de Marle*, the bishops of Tournay, of Amiens, of Constance, and of Auxerre, the rector of the university, the provost of Paris, and several others, as well of the king's council as capital citizens of Paris and students of the university. The chancellor of the duke of Aquitaine, the lord d'Olhaing, lately an advocate in the parliament, then declared, that there had been given to his charge, by the king's ministers, a leathern bag, which had been taken by the bailiff of Caen, together with a knight, chamberlain to the duke of Brittany, from de Faulcon d'Encre and friar James Petit, of the order of the Augustins, and other ambassadors from the lords mentioned in the papers contained in the bag, which had been transmitted by the said bailiff to the king's council. He added, that he had found in this bag four blank papers, signed and sealed by four different persons, namely, Berry, Orleans, Bourbon, and Alençon. Each blank had only the name signed on the margin above the seal. He had also found many sealed letters from the duke of Berry addressed to the king of England, to the queen, and to their four sons; and in like manner from the duke of Brittany to the earl of Richmond and to other noblemen in England. There were also many letters without any superscription, being credential ones for the aforesaid Faulcon and friar James Petit, to the king and queen of England.

These letters were publicly read, and in them the duke of Berry styled the king of England, "My most redoubted lord and nephew ;" and the queen, "My most redoubted and honoured lady, niece and daughter;" and they were signed with the duke of Berry's own hand. In the one to the queen, there were two lines in his own handwriting, desiring her to place full year.-See post., where it is said, that sir Reginald (i. e. sir Arnauld) de Corbie was displaced (1413), and Eustaco de Lactre appointed in his place.

Moreri, in his list of chancellors, places Arnauld de Corbie, lord of Joigny, from 1409 to 1413, and makes Henry de Marle, lord of Versigny, his successor in the latter

confidence in the said ambassadors. These blanks were publicly displayed, and the king held them some time in his hand. There was a small article on a single sheet of paper containing the instructions for the ambassadors, which was likewise read aloud, and contained a repetition of the charges made against the duke of Burgundy, by the duchess of Orleans and her sons, for the death of the late duke of Orleans. It recited, that they had frequently demanded justice of the king of France for this murder, but could never obtain it, because the duke of Burgundy had prevented and evil counselled the king, by persuading him that the duke of Orleans had been a disloyal traitor to his king and country, which was false,— adding, that the duke of Burgundy had seduced the commonalty of France, more especially the populace of Paris, by asserting that the late duke of Orleans wanted to destroy the king of France and his family, which was also a falsehood, for it had never even entered his thoughts.

These instructions contained, likewise, that the duke of Burgundy had caused the king to be angry with the duke of Brittany, because he had obstructed his expedition against Calais, and several other attempts which the duke of Burgundy had plotted against England; that the duke of Burgundy had instigated the people of Paris so greatly against the king and the duke of Aquitaine that everything was governed to his will,—and he had now the royal family in such subjection that they dared hardly to open their mouths; that the Parisians, under pretext of a bull granted by pope Urban V. against the free companies that had ravaged France, had caused them and their adherents to be excommunicated, and had forcibly constrained the official at Paris to proceed against them in the severest manner, and to denounce them publicly, as excommunicated, with every aggravation of circumstance.

These ambassadors were not to discover themselves to any man in England, unless they were sure of his support; and when they had read the contents of these papers to the king, they were to demand a private audience, and declare from the dukes of Berry, of Orleans, of Bourbon, and from the count d'Alençon, that they were most anxious for his welfare and honour, and ready to aid and assist him against the duke of Burgundy, as well as against the Welsh and Irish. They were to add, that if they could not succeed against the Scots, which they would attempt, and in case they could not obtain all they wished, they would engage to establish a peace between him and the king of France; and that if there were any lands to which he laid claim, or pretended any right, on their side the sea, they would manage the matter to his full satisfaction. They were also to say, that for want of due justice being administered at home, they were come to claim it from him, in regard to the death of the late duke of Orleans; and as bearing the name of king, it belonged to him to do justice; and he would acquire perpetual honour to himself, and great advantages to his subjects, by granting them his aid and support. It was also worthy of his interference, considering the high rank of the late duke of Orleans. They were likewise to say, that the undersigned would serve him and his family, as well as their descendants, in all times to come, and which they were enabled to do, even against the most potent in the realm of France. These ambassadors were also to require an immediate aid against the duke of Burgundy, of three hundred lances and three thousand archers, who should receive pay in advance for four months.

The chancellor of Aquitaine next produced a sketch of their intended government of France, containing many articles, which were read aloud. Among other schemes, there was to be imposed on every acre a tax called a land-tax; and as there were deposits of salt in the kingdom, there were likewise to be granaries of wheat and oats for the profit of the king that all lands or houses which were in a ruinous state should be instantly repaired, or otherwise forfeited to the crown: that every commoner should be forced to work or quit the realm,—and that there should be but one weight and one measure throughout the country. Item, that the duchies of Lorrain and Luxembourg should be conquered, as well as the towns in Provence and Savoy, and annexed to the kingdom of France.-Item, that the university should be removed from Paris, and one erected and nobly endowed for the reception of numbers of discreet men. There were many rolls produced, but not read, as they were of little consequence. After the chancellor of Aquitaine had concluded, the provost of the

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