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count de St. Pol. to the master of the cross-bows*, and to other great lords, to forbid them, on any pretence, to proceed further in this expedition, under pain of incurring his indignation. Thus was this armament broken up on the night of Martinmas-day.

The duke of Burgundy, however, swore by a great oath, in the presence of many of his people, that within the month of March ensuing, he would return to St. Omer with a powerful army, and thence march to make war against the English in the Boulonois, and subject them to his obedience, or die in the attempt. The duke and his vassals left St. Omer, and returned to their homes. This retreat caused great discontent thoughout Picardy, and the frontiers of the Boulonois, against the king and his council, as well as against those who had raised this army, and not without cause, for the multitudes that had been collected had done infinite mischief to the country.

Sir William de Vienne, lord of St. George, and lieutenant-governor of Picardy, resigned this office to the duke of Burgundy, who nominated in his place the lord de Croy. The greater part of the king's artillery was deposited in the castle of St. Remy, in the expectation that they would be wanted in the ensuing season.

The duke of Burgundy, having left St. Omer, passed through Hesdin, where the duchess was, to Douay, where he received the intelligence that the duchess of Brabant had been dead some little time. He was very indignant at having been forced to disband the forces he intended to march to Calais, and for that cause conceived a deep hatred against many of the king of France's ministers,-more particularly against the duke of Orleans, for he had been told that the expedition had been countermanded by his interference. He held a numerous council at Douay on this subject, with many of the nobles of his countries, when it was unanimously resolved, that he should personally wait on the king, to entreat that the expedition against Calais should be renewed the ensuing spring. He went, in consequence, to Paris, nobly attended. He made strong remonstrances to the king, the duke of Berry, his uncle, and others of the king's council, and heavy complaints for their having allowed him to raise so large an army, at such a great expense, and then having disgraced and dishonoured him, by ordering him to disband it, when on the point of marching to Calais. The king, however, and his ministers, gently appeased his wrath, by informing him of many particulars which had made it proper that such measures as he complained of should have been taken, both from necessity and convenience. He was apparently satisfied with their reasons; and he was given to understand, that within a short time the king would permit him to accomplish his object of besieging Calais.

CHAPTER XXX.-THE PRELATES AND CLERGY OF FRANCE ARE SUMMONED TO ATTEND THE KING AT PARIS, ON THE SUBJECT OF A UNION OF THE CHURCH.

Ar this period, all the archbishops, bishops, and the principal clergy of France and Dauphiny, were summoned to Paris by order of the king, to confer with his great council on the means of establishing a universal union of the church. When all, or the greater part, were arrived, as the health of the king was very indifferent, a grand procession was made, and a solemn mass to the Holy Ghost was celebrated in the royal chapel of the palace, by the archbishop of Rheims. On the morrow, the conference was held at the palace, when the duke of Aquitaine, dauphin of Vienne, represented the king. He was attended by the dukes of Berry, Burgundy, and Bourbon, and many of the nobles. A learned cordelier, doctor in theology in the university of Paris, opened the business, and explained the reasons of this assembly. He eloquently stated from facts the sufferings of the church, from the great perversity and discord of two popes contending for the papacy, and that it was absolutely necessary to provide a speedy remedy, otherwise the church would be ruined.

On the day after the feast of St. Eloy, the king, having recovered his health, attended this conference, accompanied by the noble persons before mentioned, and was seated on his royal throne. He promised to execute whatever this assembly and the court of parliament should resolve on; and shortly afterward, a proclamation was made throughout the realm, that neither of the contending popes should dispose of any benefices or dignities in the church

* John de Hangest, lord of Huqueville.

which might become vacant; and likewise that the sums of money usually paid into the apostolical chamber should be discontinued to both the rival popes. It was also proclaimed, that all benefices should in future be given by the sovereign, or legal patrons, as had been formerly done, before the reservations and constitutions made by pope Clement VI. of the name.

CHAPTER XXXI.—THE LIEGEOIS EJECT THEIR BISHOP, JOHN OF BAVARIA, FOR REFUSING TO BE CONSECRATED AS A CHURCHMAN, ACCORDING TO HIS PROMISE.

THIS same year, John of Bavaria, surnamed "sans pitié," bishop of Liege, and brothergerman to duke William, count of Hainault, was ejected by the Liegeois from his bishopric, for refusing to take sacred orders, according to what he had promised and sworn to them. They elected another lord and bishop in his room, a young man of eighteen years old, or thereabout, and canon of the church of Saint Lambert of Liege. They also made the lord de Pieruels*, father to the new bishop, their principal maimbourg, and governor of the whole territory of Liege. John of Bavaria had, some time before, promised to resign the bishopric to the son of Pieruels, as was known to Anthony duke of Brabant, Waleran count de St. Pol, and several other respectable persons, which promise he now refused to keep. At the instigation, therefore, of the lord de Pieruels, the Liegeois had rebelled against John of Bavaria †, and chosen a new lord. Their late bishop was much angered at their conduct, and had his town of Bouillon, and other castles, well stored with every sort of warlike provision, that he might thence carry on a war against the country of Liege. He then went to his brother duke William, in Hainault, to obtain his assistance and men at arms. In the mean time, the Liegeois assembled in great force, and marched to the town of Bouillon, which, with the castle, they took by storm, and put to death all they found therein.

John of Bavaria shortly after entered the country of Liege, near to Thuin, with four hundred combatants, and burnt many towns and houses, carrying away a very great booty to Hainault. The Liegeois soon after entered Hainault with a considerable army, where they destroyed the tower of Morialines, and burnt the town. They thence marched to Brabançon, and other places belonging to such knights and esquires as had invaded their country, which they plundered, and in many places burnt, wasting the country with fire and sword. The Hainaulters assembled to repulse them; but the enemy were in such superior numbers that they returned back, without effecting anything worth relating. War now raged between them, and each fortified their towns as strongly as they could.

The Liegeois sent ambassadors to the pope, to lay before him the conduct of John of Bavaria, and his refusal to take orders according to his promise, requesting that he might be ejected by the apostolical authority, and that the son of the lord de Pieruels, whom they had elected, might be admitted in his room. The pope could not accede to their request, because he had been faithfully inforined that the Liegeois, after mature deliberation, had fixed on a day for John of Bavaria to take orders, and that this day was not as yet passed. The ambassadors, therefore, returned to Liege, without having done anything. Those who had sent them were very indignant at pope Gregory for not complying with their demands, and resolved to send another embassy to his rival pope Benedict. This pope received them most graciously, granted all their demands, and gave them his bulls for the confirmation of them. They returned home greatly rejoiced at the successful issue of their negotiation.

* Called in the Catalogue of the Bishops of Liege, by Joannes Placentius, Henry lord of Parewis. The name of his son, the elected bishop, was Theodoric de Parewis. Pontus Heuterus says, they were descended from the ancient dukes of Brabant.

He narrowly escaped being massacred, with all his household, at St. Tron, by a body of the rabble, who burst into the monastery with that intent. His own persoual courage alone saved him in that extremity.

VOL. I.

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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 TUE 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 inmediate 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 say 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 popedon 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.

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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 Durbain is added to the above an bassadors.

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