ページの画像
PDF
ePub

raised; and should there be any within your jurisdiction who, in defiance of these our orders, shall have joined the said duke, we order you to seize their persons, and confiscate their estates which lie within your bailiwick, for our use.

"Notwithstanding these explicit orders, you have been, as we have heard, very dilatory and negligent in obeying them, and have paid but little attention thereto : should this have been the case, we are, and not without reason, much displeased. We therefore again command, and most strictly enjoin, on penalty of dismission from your office, that on the receipt of these presents, you do proclaim them, or cause them to be proclaimed, in all the accustomed places within your bailiwick, so that no one, whatever be his rank, may think of joining or serving the duke of Burgundy, in the army which he has assembled; and that all who may have joined him may instantly return to their homes, under pain of suffering corporal punishment and confiscation of effects. And whereas it is notorious, that many persons within your jurisdiction have joined the duke of Burgundy, and that others are his supporters and abettors, who, contrary to our pleasure, have murmured and continue discontented, attempting also to deceive and seduce our people from their allegiance, and endeavouring, as we have heard, by every possible means, to advise and comfort the said duke of Burgundy: we therefore enjoin you, under the penalties aforesaid, to take instant possession of all their effects, moveable and immoveable, within your district, and wherever they may be, for us and in our name. You will act in like manner to all whom you may know to be favourable to the said duke of Burgundy, and partisans in his abominable and traitorous designs. Nevertheless, if you can lay hands on any of their persons, you will instantly arrest them wherever they may be, except in sanctuaries, and immediately inflict such corporal punishment on them as they may have deserved. Should you not be able to do this, summon them to appear, under penalty of banishment and confiscation of effects. You will also command, by proclamation, all who are bound to serve us, to hasten to join us with as numerous a body of men-at-arms as possible, that we may effectually oppose the duke of Burgundy and his accomplices, reduce them to the obedience they owe us, and punish them according to their misdeeds, and the tenor of those letters which we have before addressed to you. Do you be careful to execute punctually and diligently these our orders, that we may not proceed against you for disobedience.

"Given at Paris the 20th day of February, in the year of Grace 1413, and of our reign the 33d." Thus signed by the king, on the report of the grand council held by the queen and the duke of Aquitaine. Countersigned," J. DU CHATEL." It was proclaimed in Amiens and its bailiwick by orders of the bailiff and his deputies on the last day of February and the following days.

Letters-patent were also sent to the nobles of Artois from the king, and to those who had attended the duke of Burgundy in his march to Paris from the bailiwicks of Amiens, Tournay, and the Vermandois; and to those who had remained at home were sent letters sealed with the small round seal. The first letters, in the king's name, forbade these nobles, under pain of the before-mentioned penalties, to accompany, or to give counsel or aid, to the said duke of Burgundy, and commanded them to prepare themselves and their horses to serve the king against this Burgundian and his abettors. By the second, they were ordered to collect as large a force as they could, and advance to Paris and join the king there, or wherever else he might be, that he might be enabled to impugn and humble the duke of Burgundy, his partisans and advisers. These letters were forwarded to the bailiff of Amiens by the chancellor, who sent them, according to orders, to the provostships and bailiwicks, for the guards in each to deliver them to those within their districts to whom they were addressed. These guards were to receive hostages, if possible, and send them to Paris, and they were to write word what other securities they had obtained. Should they not receive any, nor letters of acknowledgment, they were also to write this, that it might be known who had and who had not received these letters from the king.

About this time, the bishop of Paris, at the request of the university, sent to the duke of Burgundy, to know whether he would avow those arguments which master John Petit had advanced by his desire against the late duke of Orleans. The duke, in reply, told the messengers, that he would neither avow nor support the said master John, saving his just

rights. On this answer being carried to Paris, it was ordered by the bishop and the inquisitor of the faith, that the aforesaid arguments should be condemned, and publicly burnt in the presence of the clergy, and of whoever else might choose to witness it. When this was done, it was proposed that the bones of the said master John Petit should be Bought for in the town of Hêdin, where he had died, for it was intended to burn them in the same place where his arguments had been burnt,—but in the end nothing more was done.

CHAPTER CXVII.-THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY HOLDS Α GRAND CONFERENCE WITH HIS NOBLES IN ARRAS, WHO PROMISE TO SERVE HIM AGAINST ALL HIS ENEMIES.

THE duke of Burgundy daily received intelligence that the king and the duke of Aquitaine were completely turned against him, through the means of those who then governed. In consequence, he assembled all his nobles of Artois and Picardy at Arras. On his appearing among them, he first apologised for having made them wait, saying that he had been at Paris in obedience to the commands of the duke of Aquitaine, and again caused to be read the letters which he had received from him. He added, that he had left large bodies of his men-at-arms in the towns of Compiegne and Soissons, at the request of the inhabitants; for they had learnt that the king, by the advice of his present ministers, was raising a large forcc to reconquer these towns. He then asked the nobles, whether he might depend on their support. They replied, that they would cheerfully serve him against all his enemies, saving the king of France and his children. This they all promised excepting the lord de Ront, who declared that he would serve him even against the king of France.

At this period, there ra ed an epidemical disorder throughout France and other countries; it affected the head, and very many died of it, both old and young. It was called the coqueluche *.

CHAPTER CXVIII.-A GRAND COUNCIL HELD, IN THE KING'S NAME, AT PARIS.

On the 2d day of March, in this year, was held a grand council, at the hotel of St. Pol, in the presence of the queen and the duke of Aquitaine, (because the king was not then in perfect health,) of many princes and prelates beside the ordinary members of the council. The chancellor of France harangued for a considerable time on the behaviour of the duke of Burgundy, and how he had conducted himself toward the king and the princes of the blood at many and divers times, since the death of Louis duke of Orleans: that lately, in defiance of the commands of the king and the duke of Aquitaine, he had marched a powerful force of men-at-arms and archers, with displayed banners, to the very walls of Paris, committing at the same time irreparable damages to the kingdom: he had likewise placed garrisons in the towns of Compiegne and Soissons, who daily made open war on the subjects of the king, in like manner as our ancient enemies of England would have done that since he had thus notoriously broken the peace that had been agreed to at Auxerre, and confirmed at Pontoise, the chancellor earnestly demanded those present, on their allegiance, to declare what measures the king and the duke of Aquitaine should pursue against the duke of Burgundy.

This council consisted of the king of Sicily, the dukes of Berry, Orleans, Bourbon and Bar, the counts d'Alençon, de Vertus +, de Richemont, d'Eu, de Dampmartin, d'Armagnac, de Vendôme, de Marle and de Touraine; the lord d'Albreth, constable of France, the archbishop of Sens, and many other prelates, with a considerable number of notable barons, knights and esquires of the royal council. When they had for some time deliberated on the

* The coqueluche was a contagious disorder, much dreaded in the fifteenth century. Its usual symptoms were a violent defluxion on the chest, accompanied with severe pains in the head.-Dict. de Trevoux.

+ Brother to the duke of Orleans.-Vertus, from which he took his title, was originally a fief of Champagne, and fell with that palatinate to the crown of France.

King John gave it to John Galeas, duke of Milan, as the dowry of his daughter Isabel, wife to that duke. It descended to Valentina, his daughter, and came with her into the house of Orleans: afterwards, by the family partition made in 1445, it passed to Margaret of Orleans, wife to Richard count of Estampes, and was given to a bastard branch of the house of Bretagne.

chancellor's demand, they replied, by the mouth of the archbishop of Sens, that the king might legally and honourably wage war on the duke of Burgundy, considering the manner in which he had conducted and continued to conduct himself with regard to him. It was then resolved, that the king should raise a large army, and march in person against the duke and his adherents, to subjugate them, and reduce their country to obedience. The queen, the duke of Aquitaine, all the princes, and the whole council, then engaged, and solemnly swore, on their faith and loyalty, that they would never pay attention to any letters or embassy from the said duke, until he and his allies should be destroyed, or at least humbled and reduced to obedience.

When the council broke up, clerks were employed to write letters, which were despatched to divers countries, and throughout France; and the king at this time raised a larger army than he had done during his whole reign,-insomuch, that in a very short time, by the activity of the said princes, and by the king's summons, a very great multitude of men-at-arm were collected round Paris, and in the parts adjacent in the Isle of France. Some of the captains were despatched with a large body of men toward the town of Compiegne, which, as I have before said, was garrisoned by the duke of Burgundy, namely, the lord Charles d'Albreth, constable of France, sir Hector, bastard of Bourbon, Remonnet de la Guerre, the lord de Gaucourt and several others,-who, on their forming the siege, had many and severe skirmishes with those of the town, as they made frequent sallies night and day, and at the beginning did them much damage. They were, however, often driven back by the besiegers into the town, which was under the government of sir Hugh de Launay, the lord de Saint Legier, and his son, the lord Mauroy, Hector Philippe, le bon de Saveusest, the lord de Sorres, knights, Louvelet de Malinghen, and many other notable men-at-arms, by orders of the duke of Burgundy. These captains, to prevent the besiegers from quartering themselves at their ease, were diligent in harassing them, and burnt all the suburbs, with many handsome buildings, as well houses as churches. The besiegers, on their side, were not idle: they threw two bridges over the river Oise, to succour each other should there be occasion, and pointed against the walls and gates two large engines, which annoyed them much.

The king of France on the Saturday in the holy week, the third of April, marched out of Paris in a triumphant manner, and with great state, to the town of Senlis to wait for his army. He there celebrated the feast of the Resurrection of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. The king and the duke of Aquitaine wore, on this expedition, the badge and arms of the count d'Armagnac, laying aside that noble and gallant banner which he and his royal predecessors had hitherto borne, for the plain white cross. Many of the great barons, knights, and other loyal servants of the king and the duke, were much displeased at this, saying, that it was not becoming the excellence of his royal majesty to bear the arms of so poor a lord as the count d'Armagnac, particularly as it was for his own personal quarrel, and within his own realm. This banner, which was now the cause of such rejoicing, had been given to an ancestor of the said count, by the decision of a pope, to be borne for ever by him, and his heirs and successors, as a penalty for certain crimes committed by his predecessors against the church.

CHAPTER CXIX. THE DUKE OF AQUITAINE LEAVES PARIS, AND JOINS THE KING ΟΙ FRANCE AT SENLIS.-HE MARCHES THENCE TO LAY SIEGE TO THE TOWN OF COMPIEGNE.

[A. D. 1414.]

At the beginning of this year, namely, on Easter-Monday, the duke of Aquitaine set out from Paris with a noble company, and went to Senlis, to join the king his father. The king then departed from Senlis, attended by many princes and prelates, and a grand assemblage of chivalry, to fix his quarters at Verberiet. The queen and the duchess of Aquitaine, who

John, lord of Gaucourt, died in 1393, leaving Raoul V. lord of Gaucourt. Eustace, lord of Veri, great-falconer of France, and John, lord of Maisons-sur-Seine. Raoul V. was chamberlain to the king, and bailiff of Rouen: he was killed in the year 1417, and left a son, Raoul VI.,

who became grand-master of France, and is much distinguished hereafter.

Saveuse, an ancient house in Picardy.

Verberie, a town in Picardy, on the Oise, three leagues from Senlis, four from Compiegne.

had come with the duke from Paris, went to lodge at Meaux-in-Brie. The duke of Berry remained behind, as governor of Paris and the adjacent country. King Louis of Sicily went to Angiers, and thence returned to Paris, and did not attend the king on this expedition. The king of France, on leaving Verberie, marched toward Compiegne; and when he had approached near, he sent one of his heralds to the gates of the town, to announce to those within that the king was coming, that they might, like loyal subjects, admit him as their lord. The townsmen made answer, that they would very cheerfully admit him and his son, the duke of Aquitaine, with their attendants, but no more. The herald carried this answer

to the king, who had lodged himself in a small house between the town and the forest, and the duke of Aquitaine in the monastery of Roy-au-lieu. The other princes and captains quartered themselves as well as they could; and the king's batteries kept constantly playing against the town, to which they did much damage, while skirmishes frequently happened between the two parties. One of them is deserving of notice. When the month of May was near at hand, sir Hector, bastard of Bourbon, sent to inform the besieged, that on the first of May he would try their courage. On that day, he accordingly mounted his horse, attended by about two hundred able men-at-arms and some foot-soldiers, having all May garlands over their helmets: he led them to the gate of Pierrefons, to present a May garland to the besieged, as he had promised. The besieged made a stout resistance, insomuch that it became very serious, and several were killed and wounded on each side: the bastard of Bourbon had his horse killed under him, and was in great danger of being made prisoner or slain.

While these things were passing, the duke of Burgundy held many conferences with the Flemings, to persuade them to levy a certain number of men, that he might raise the siege of Compiegne; but they refused, alleging that they could not bear arms against the king of France. The duke of Burgundy, to whom his people in Compiegne had sent to know if they might expect succours, advised them to make the best terms they could with the king and the duke of Aquitaine. On hearing this, they offered to open the gates to the king and his army, on condition that the troops of the duke of Burgundy should retire in safety with their effects, they promising, or their captain for them, that they would never again oppose the king, or the duke of Aquitaine, in any town which belonged to them. The king consented to pardon the inhabitants, and to receive them again into favour, without touching their lives or fortunes. Thus on Monday, the 8th day of May, at the same time that the troops of the duke of Burgundy marched out under passports from the king and the duke of Aquitaine to fix their quarters in Artois, the royal army marched into Compiegne.

At this time, Waleran, count de St. Pol, who still called himself constable of France, riding from Amiens to his castle of St. Pol, had a severe fall, and broke his leg: the pain was so great that he was carried to St. Pol; but there was a report current, that he pretended to have been thus sorely hurt in order to be excused from obeying the king's summons, which had been often repeated to him; and also out of regard to the duke of Burgundy, whom he saw much distressed, and was perplexed how to assist him in his quarrel. In like manner, sir James de Châtillon, lord of Dampierre, styling himself admiral of France, remained all this season at his castle of Rolaincourt, pretending to be confined with the gout, which often attacked him, in order to be excused, like the constable, from serving in the king's army, or * joining the duke of Burgundy, of whose success he was very desirous. Their dependants, however, who were accustomed to follow them in arms to war, or at least the greater part of them, joined the duke of Burgundy and his partisans. This war placed many lords in disagreeable situations and perplexities; for they knew not well how to steer, with honour to themselves, between the two parties.

* There must be some mistake here in the original. It ought probably to be against instead of or.

CHAPTER CXX. THE KING OF FRANCE MARCHES HIS ARMY FROM COMPIEGNE TO SOISSONS, WHICH HE BESIEGES AND TAKES BY STORM:-IT IS PILLAGED AND DESTROYED.

THE king, having reduced the town of Compiegne to his obedience, departed, on the 5th day of May, with his army, to lay siege to the town of Soissons, of which place the brave Enguerrand de Bournouville was governor. The van division had before advanced thither, under the command of the duke of Bar, the count d'Armagnac, Clugnet de Brabant, calling himself admiral of France, the bastard of Bourbon, sir Aymé de Sallebruche, and other able captains. The inhabitants of Soissons, perceiving that they should be besieged, acted like to those of Compiegne, in destroying their suburbs, with many noble buildings, churches and houses. Notwithstanding this, they were, on the arrival of the royal army, very closely besieged. The king, on his coming thither, sent to summon the town to surrender itself to his obedience, otherwise the inhabitants were in the road to destruction; but in defiance of this, they resolved to defend themselves against the king's army, in the hope of receiving reinforcements from their lord and master the duke of Burgundy, who had promised to succour them by a certain day.

The king fixed his quarters in the convent of St. Jean des Vignes of the order of St. Augustin: the dukes of Aquitaine and of Orleans were lodged in the abbey of St. Quentin, and the other princes and lords in the best manner they could. With sir Enguerrand within the town, were sir Collart de Phiennes, Lamon de Launoy, sir Pierre Menau, Gilles du Plessis, the old lord de Menau, full of years and riches, Guyot le Bouteiller, with many more warriors from the Boulonois, Artois, and Picardy. There were also full four hundred English soldiers; but owing to some quarrels, the townsmen and those under the command of Bournouville, were not on good terms together, by which their strength was much weakened. The king's forces were very diligent in their daily attempts to annoy the town, by means of bombards, cannon, bricolles, and other engines of destruction. They were also frequently played off during the night against the walls and gates, which greatly damaged them in several places, and harassed the garrison. At length, on the 21st of May, the place was vigorously stormed on every side; but before this happened, some new knights were created, among whom were Louis duke of Bavaria, the count de Richemont, and the provost

of Paris.

The van division posted on the opposite side, under the command of the duke of Bar, the count of Armagnac, and Remonnet de la Guerre, made their attack at the same time; and the princes and leaders urged their men on with such bravery, that in spite of the obstinate resistance of the besieged, the king's forces made an entry by a large breach which had been effected by the engines, and there the combat raged,--for every inch was disputed with lances, battle-axes, and swords, hand to hand. During the storm, the commander of the English forces within the town, having held a parley with some of his countrymen in the king's army, caused a gate leading to the river to be cut down, through which the count d'Armagnac's men rushed, and hoisted, on the highest tower, the banner of their count; and the greater part of the English suddenly turned against the townsmen.

Soon after, the army forced an entrance through the walls, putting all they met to the sword, inhabitants and garrison indiscriminately. During this attack, as Enguerrand de Bournouville was riding through different parts of the town, to encourage his men, he was pursued through a narrow street which had a chain thrown across it by some of the men of Remonnet de la Guerre, who pressed on him so much that he was forced to retreat and attempt to leap over the chain; but, in so doing, his horse could not clear it, and remained suspended, when he was made prisoner and led with great joy to Remonnet. The others, seeing the town was taken, retired to different parts within the gates, and the towers of the walls, whence, parleying with their enemies, they surrendered, on promise of their lives being spared. Those who defended their posts were slain or made prisoners: in short, Monstrelet mentions in the preceding chapter, that the king of France made his public entry into Cempiegne on the 8th day of May.

« 前へ次へ »