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CHAPTER XXXII.-ANTHONY DUKE OF LIMBOURG TAKES POSSESSION OF THAT DUCHY, AND AFTERWARD OF THE TOWN OF MAESTRICHT, TO THE GREAT DISPLEASURE OF THE LIEGEOIS.

ANTHONY duke of Limbourg, brother to John duke of Burgundy, after the death of the duchess of Brabant, succeeded to that duchy, and its dependencies. All the Brabanters, clergy and nobles, did him homage, promising him obedience as their lawful lord, except the town of Maestricht. When he had taken possession of this duchy, he surrendered, with the consent of the duke of Burgundy, the county of Rethel to his younger brother, Philip count de Nevers, thus accomplishing the last orders of his father and mother. As the town of Maestricht was divided between the governments of Brabant and Liege, one half belonging to each, the inhabitants said they were bound only to do homage to one of them, and to him who first had possession; and that, having formerly given their oaths to John of Bavaria. they refused to pay homage to the duke of Brabant.

The duke was ill pleased with their refusal, and resolved, with the advice of his council, to constrain them to it by force. He sought for men-at-arms everywhere; and there came to him his brother, the count de Nevers, the counts de St. Pol and de Namur, the lords de St. George and de Croy, on the part of the duke of Burgundy,—with several others in considerable number, sent to him by the king of France and the duke of Berry. When his forces were all assembled from different countries, he quitted Brabant, attended by his nobles, and a large train of waggons carrying the implements of war, taking the direct road to the town of Maestricht. But on passing through, or near the territories of Liege, he found they had collected a large army, which much impeded him in his march by breaking down the bridges, and destroying the roads, in retaliation for the affection the duke of Brabant had shown to John of Bavaria their adversary.

The Liegeois had assembled in the town of Maestricht full twenty thousand armed men, with the new bishop at their head, being desirous that he should be received by the duke as their legal bishop and lord. This great assembly, however, separated without effusion of blood for the duke of Brabant had entered into secret negotiations with the townsmen, who consented to receive him as their lord, and to swear to him faith and loyalty. When this was done, the duke returned and disbanded his forces. The Liegeois, on hearing of it, instantly required those of Maestricht, that since they had sworn obedience to the duke of Brabant, they would do the same to their new bishop, who was their true lord. This demand was refused; and they sent for answer, that having done homage to John of Bavaria, and acknowledged him for their lord, they would not take another oath. The Liegeois were very indignant at this answer, as were the governor of the town and bishop, and made preparations to wage war against them, and besiege their town, as shall hereafter be more fully described.

CHAPTER XXXIII.—AMBASSADORS FROM POPE GREGORY ARRIVE AT PARIS, WITH BULLS FROM THE POPE TO THE KING AND UNIVERSITY OF PARIS.

AMBASSADORS arrived at Paris bringing bulls from pope Gregory* to the king and the university, expressing that the pope was very ready and willing to make any concessions the king and university should think expedient for the union of the church, provided his rival Benedict would agree to similar terms. The ambassadors and their bulls were received with much joy, and the contents of the latter were as follows:

Gregory, a bishop, and servant to the servants of God, sends health and his apostolical benediction to his children of the university. We are the more prepared to write to you, my beloved children, because of the sorrowful concern which you have manifested on account of the schism in the church, which, through the mercy of the all-powerful God, has much Angelus Corrarius, a noble Venetian, elected at Rome after the death of Innocent VII. He assumed the name of Gregory XII.

affected you. Innocent VII. our immediate predecessor, of enviable remembrance to this age, was taken from us on a Saturday, the 6th of November. Our venerable brethren the cardinals of the holy Roman church, of whom I was one, being, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, summoned to a conclave, to elect a Roman pontiff,-after many things had been discussed, all eyes were directed to me, a cardinal priest of the title of St. Mark; and with unanimous consent, they elected me bishop of Rome, which honour we greatly feared, from a sense of weakness: however, we trusted in Him who does marvellous works, that he would enable us to bear this burden,—and we trusted not in ourself, but in the virtue of God, by whom we were convinced the thing had been done. This pastoral office has not fallen to us for our profit, but for the glory of God and the public benefit,-to both of which we turn our thoughts and courage, in order that this poisonous schism, in which the Christian people have been so long bewildered, may be destroyed. If, as we hope, so great a grace may be shown to us to bring this about, we trust it may be shortly accomplished.

"In order, therefore, to obviate, as much as in us lies, all obstruction on our part to the much-desired union of the church, we offer to resign our claim to the papacy, provided our adversary, or his successor, whoever he be, shall engage solemnly to make a similar renunciation; that is to say, that he renounce, fully and clearly, all claim to the papacy, and that all those whom he may have created cardinals do unite with those of our college, so that a canonical election of a Roman pontiff may ensue. We offer, beside, any other reasonable concessions, so that this schism may be put an end to; and that what we my may be depended on, we have sworn and promised the above at the time of our election to the popedom, in conjunction with our venerable brethren the cardinals of the same church.

"In case that either of us be re-chosen pope, we have engaged instantly to send properly instructed commissioners to Constance, who shall both privately and publicly labour to bring about this desired union of the church. Do you, therefore, my beloved children, have the goodness to exert all your strength to aid us in the accomplishment of this business, that the church may not longer labour under this disorder; and let affection aid solicitude.-Given at St. Peter's, at Rome, the 11th day of December, in the year 1406."

When the ambassadors had fully remonstrated on the matter of their coming, and made the same offers contained in the bull of the renunciation of the popedom by Gregory, and had been well entertained at Paris, having received promises of messengers being sent to pope Benedict, they returned to their lord and master.

About the ensuing Candlemas, the king of France and the university of Paris, in consequence of the deliberations of the prelates, clergy and council, sent certain ambassadors to pope Benedict,-namely, the patriarch of Alexandria, who was then at Paris, the bishops of Cambray and Beauvais, the abbots of St. Denis and of Mont St. Michel, the lord de Courrouille, master John Toussaint, secretary to the king, and other doctors of the university, with many very respectable persons. They took the road to Marseilles, where Benedict, and some of the cardinals of his party, then resided. These ambassadors were charged to remonstrate with him, in an amicable manner, on the offer which his rival had made to renounce the papacy, in order to effectuate a union of the church. In case he should not be willing to make a similar offer, they were to intimate to him, that if he refused, the whole realm of France and Dauphiny, in conjunction with many other countries of Christendom, would withdraw themselves from him, and no longer obey his bulls or apostolical mandates. In like manner would they act toward his adversary, were he to refuse compliance with the offers made by his ambassadors to the king of France and the university of Paris.

The ambassadors were graciously received by pope Benedict, on their arrival at Marseilles; but when they opened the matter of their embassy, and explained the subject at length, the pope replied in person, that in a short time they should have his answer,—and in the mean while, he was not forgetful that they had threatened to withdraw themselves from his obedience. To provide a remedy against the effects of this menace, and that no cardinal might publish a constitution against such as might withdraw themselves from his obedience, or even that of his successors, he sent an envoy to the king and the university of Paris, to their great astonishment.

The pope having given an answer to the ambassadors from France, very different indeed from what they expected, they set out on their return to Paris much displeased with him. On their arrival, they related all that had passed. The patriarch, however, had remained at Marseilles, with the hope of inclining pope Benedict to a union of the church.

CHAPTER XXXIV.-THE DUKE OF ORLEANS RECEIVES THE DUCHY OF AQUITAINE, AS A PRESENT, FROM THE KING OF FRANCE.-A TRUCE CONCLUDED BETWEEN ENGLAND AND FRANCE.

[A. D. 1407.]

Ar the beginning of this year, the duke of Orleans, by means which he had long practised, prevailed on his brother, the king of France, to give him the duchy of Aquitaine, which he had long been wishing for. Truces were at this time concluded between the kings of France and England, for one year only, and were proclaimed at the accustomed places.

[graphic]

PROCLAMATION OF A PEACE.-From a MS. illumination of the Fifteenth Century.

The Flemings were much rejoiced thereat, for they thought that their commerce would now be more securely carried on. Ambassadors from England arrived at Paris from king Henry, the principal of whom was sir Thomas Erpingham, having with him an archdeacon, and several noblemen. He was presented to the king by Tassin de Servillers, and required in marriage one of the princesses, a nun at Poissy, for the prince of Wales, eldest son to king Henry. But as they demanded too great concessions with the princess, they returned without success. The lord de Hangest, whom the king had lately for his merit made master of the cross-bows, escorted them as far as Boulogne-sur-mer*.

See the Fœdera. The ambassadors were, sir Thomas Erpingham, John Cateryk, clerk, and Hugh Mortimer, treasure to the prince of Wales.

Other credentials are given in December of this year, wherein the bishop of Durham is added to the above am

bassadors.

CHAPTER XXXV. THE PRINCE OF WALES, ACCOMPANIED BY HIS TWO UNCLES, MARCHES A CONSIDERABLE FORCE TO WAGE WAR AGAINST THE SCOTS.

THE prince of Wales, son to king Henry, assembled, about the feast of All-Saints, one thousand men at arms and six thousand archers, to make an incursion into Scotland. His uncles, the dukes of York and Somerset, and the lords Mortimer, Rôs, Cornwall, and many other nobles attended him. Their object was to retaliate on the Scots, who had lately broken the truce, and done much mischief with fire and sword in the duchy of Lancaster. They entered Scotland, and committed great carnage wherever they passed; for the Scots were quite unprepared to receive them, nor had they any intelligence of their coming until they were in the midst of their country.

When news of this invasion was brought to the king of Scotland, he was at his town of St. Jangont, in the centre of his realm. He assembled in haste his nobles, and as large a force as could be collected on so short notice, which he sent under the command of the earls of Douglas and Buchan, with his constable, to meet the English and combat them, should they think it advisable. When they were within six leagues of the enemy, they were informed, that the English were far superior in numbers, and they adopted other measures. They sent ambassadors to the prince of Wales to treat of peace, and they managed so well that the truce was renewed for one year. The prince of Wales, having done great mischief to Scotland, returned to England; and the Scots disbanded their army.

CHAPTER XXXVI.-THE DUKE OF ORLEANS, ONLY BROTHER TO CHARLES VI. THE WELLBELOVED, KING OF FRANCE, IS INHUMANLY ASSASSINATED IN THE TOWN OF PARIS.

THIS year there happened the most melancholy event in the town of Paris that had ever befallen the Christian kingdom of France by the death of a single man. It occasioned the utmost grief to the king and the princes of the blood, as well as to the kingdom in general, and was the cause of most disastrous quarrels between them, which lasted a very long time, insomuch that the kingdom was nearly ruined and overturned, as will more plainly be shown in the continuation of this history. This event was nothing less than the murder of the duke of Orleans, only brother to Charles the well-beloved, king of France.

The duke was, on a Wednesday, the feast-day of pope St. Clement, assassinated in Paris, about seven o'clock in the evening, on his return from dinner. This murder was committed by about eighteen men, who had lodged at an hôtel having for sign the image of our Lady, near the Porte Barbette, and who, it was afterward discovered, had for several days intended this assassination. On the Wednesday before-mentioned, they sent one named Scas de Courteheuze, valet-de-chambre to the king, and one of their accomplices, to the duke of Orleans, who had gone to visit the queen of France at an hôtel which she had lately purchased from Montagu, grand master of the king's household, situated very near the Porte Barbette. She had lain in there of a child, which had died shortly after its birth, and had not then accomplished the days of her purification.

Scas, on his seeing the duke, said, by way of deceiving him, " My lord, the king sends for you, and you must instantly hasten to him, for he has business of great importance to you and him, which he must communicate to you." The duke, on hearing this message, was eager to obey the king's orders, although the monarch knew nothing of the matter, and immediately mounted his mule, attended by two esquires on one horse, and four or five valets on foot, who followed behind bearing torches; but his other attendants made no haste to follow him. He had made this visit in a private manner, notwithstanding at this time he had within the city of Paris six hundred knights and esquires of his retinue, and at his Monstrelet? I have looked at Hollingshed, Stowe, and Henry.

*It is not very easy to say to what this chapter can refer. There appears to have been no expedition into Scotland at this period, nor at any other, to which the facts here related bear the least resemblance. Is it entirely a fabrication of

+ St. Jangon-Perth, being probably a French corruption of St. John's Town,

expense. On his arrival at the Porte Barbette, the eighteen men, all well and secretly armed, were waiting for him, and were lying in ambush, under shelter of a pent-house. The night was pretty dark; and as they sallied out against him, one cried out, "Put him to death!" and gave him such a blow on the wrist with his battle-axe as severed it from his arm. The duke, astonished at this attack, cried out, "I am the duke of Orleans!" when the assassins, continuing their blows, answered, "You are the person we were looking for." So many rushed on him that he was struck off his mule, and his skull was split that his brains were dashed on the pavement. They turned him over and over, and massacred him that he was very soon completely dead. A young esquire, a German by birth, who had been his page, was murdered with him: seeing his master struck to the ground, he threw himself on his body to protect him, but in vain, and he suffered for his generous courage. The horse which carried the two esquires that preceded the duke, seeing so many armed men advance, began to snort, and when he had passed them set out on a gallop, so that it was some time before he could be checked.

When the esquires had stopped their horse, they saw their lord's mule following them full gallop having caught him, they fancied the duke must have fallen, and were bringing it back by the bridle; but on their arrival where their lord lay, they were menaced by the assassins, that if they did not instantly depart they should share his fate. Seeing their lord had been thus basely murdered, they hastened to the hotel of the queen, crying out," Murder!” Those who had killed the duke, in their turn bawled out, "Fire !" and they had arranged their plan, that while some were assassinating the duke, others were to set fire to their lodgings. Some mounted on horseback, and the rest on foot, made off as fast as they could, throwing behind them broken glass and sharp points of iron to prevent their being pursued. Report said, that many of them went the back way to the hotel d'Artois to their master the duke of Burgundy, who had commanded them to do this deed, as he afterward publicly confessed, to inform him of the success of their murder, when instantly afterward they withdrew to places of safety.

The chief of these assassins, and the conductor of the business, was one called Rollet d'Auctonville*, a Norman, whom the duke of Orleans had, a little before, deprived of his office of commissioner of taxes, which the king had given to him, at the request of the late duke of Burgundy. From that time the said Rollet had been considering how he could revenge himself on the duke of Orleans. His other accomplices were William Courteheuze and Scas Courteheuze, before mentioned, from the county of Guines, John de la Motte and others, to the amount of eighteen. Within half an hour, the household of the duke of Orleans, hearing of this horrid murder, made loud complaints; and, with great crowds of nobles and others, hastened to the fatal spot, where they found him lying dead in the street. His knights and esquires, and in general all his dependants, made grievous lamentations, seeing him thus wounded and disfigured.

With many groans, they raised the body and carried it to the hotel of the lord de Rieux, marshal of France, which was hard by; and shortly afterward the body was covered with a white pall, and conveyed most honourably to the church of the Guillemins †, where it lay, as being the nearest church to where the murder had been committed. Soon afterward, the king of Sicily, and many other princes, knights, and esquires, having heard of this foul murder of the only brother of the king of France, came with many tears to visit the body. It was put into a leaden coffin, and the monks of the church, with all the late duke's household, watched it all night, saying prayers, and singing psalms over it. On the morrow, his servants found the hand which had been cut off, and collected much of the brains that had been scattered over the street, all of which were inclosed in a leaden case and placed by the coffiu.

The whole of the princes who were in Paris, except the king and his children, namely, the king of Sicily, the dukes of Berry, Burgundy, and Bourbon, the marquis du Pont, the counts de Nevers, de Clermont, de Vendôme, de St. Pol, de Dammartin, the constable of

Raoul d'Oquetonville, a knight of Normandy. The Guillemins were an order of hermits, instituted by Guillaume, duke of Guienne, and count of Poitou. They

succeeded to the church-convent of the Blanc-Manteaus, instituted by St. Louis.

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