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 of Anjou. He was grandly received by the king, the duke of Acquitaine 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 Acquitaine resided, who received her with much pleasure. Thence they went to visit the dukes of Acquitaine 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 Acquitaine 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.

CHAP. II.

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.

T

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 * Their passport is, in the Foedera, dated January 11

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 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 Acquitaine, 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 Acquitaine 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 Haris, was given the office of grand master of waters and forests,