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CHAPTER LXXXII.—THE KING OF FRANCE SENDS THE COUNT DE SAINT POL TO THE VALOIS, AND TO COUCY, AND OTHER CAPTAINS TO DIFFERENT PARTS, AGAINST THE ARMAGNACS. CONFORMABLE to the resolutions of the aforesaid council, count Waleran de St. Pol was sent into the Valois, to reduce the whole of that country to the king's obedience, and then to march to Coucy with a large body of men-at-arms, archers, and cross-bows. Sir Philip de Servolles, bailiff of Vitry en Pertois, was also ordered into the country of Vertus, with a considerable force, to subdue the whole of it. The vidame of Amiens was sent into the county of Clermont. Ferry d'Hangest, bailiff of Amiens, was ordered, for the above purpose, into the counties of Boulogne, Eu, and Gamaches.

The inhabitants of Crespy, the principal town of the Valois, no sooner learnt the intentions of the count de St. Pol, than they surrendered it to him, and received him handsomely. He thence advanced to the castle of Pierrefons, which was very strong, and well provided with all warlike stores and provision. On coming before it, he held a parley with the lord de Boquiaux the governor, who concluded a treaty with him for its surrender, on condition that the count would pay him, in the king's name, two thousand golden crowns for his expenses, and that the garrison should carry away all they had with them. The lady of Gaucourt, who was in the castle, retired to the castle of Coucy, where she was honourably received by sir Robert d'Esne, the governor. The count de St. Pol marched from Pierrefons to la Ferté-Milon, a very strong castle, and to Villers-Cotterêts, both belonging to the duke of Orleans: when not only these two, but all the other places in Valois, hearing of the surrender of so strong a castle as Pierrefons without making any resistance, surrendered, and returned to their obedience to the king. The count placed good garrisons in each, and then marched for Coucy, in the Soissonois, where, as I have before said, sir Robert d'Esne was governor of the castle. He had with him Rigault des Fontaines, and others attached to the party of the duke of Orleans. The governor of the town of Coucy was sir Enguerrand des Fontaines, and within it were many noblemen, who, holding a council, resolved to surrender the place, and to leave it with all their baggage.

The count quartered himself and his men-at-arms in the town and suburbs, and then summoned sir Robert d'Esne, in the king's name, to surrender the castle. This, sir Robert refused to do, saying, that the duke of Orleans had given him orders, when he appointed him governor, never to surrender it without his consent or knowledge, and these orders he had sworn to obey; that it was well provided with all kinds of stores, and plenty of provision, so that he did not fear its being taken by force; and he hoped, that before he should be induced to yield it, means would be found to restore his lord and master to the good graces of the king.—The count, on hearing this answer, ordered the castle to be surrounded, and quartered his men as near to it as possible, keeping up at the same time a brisk cannonade. Among other expedients, the count employed a body of miners, to undermine the gate of the lower court, called la Porte Maistre Odon, which was as handsome an edifice as could be seen for twenty leagues round; and he employed companies of miners to work at the other large towers, who were so successful that, in a short time, the mines were ready to be set fire to. The governor was again summoned to surrender, but again refused. Upon which, the count ordered his men under arms, to be prepared for the storm should it be necessary; and when all was ready, fire was set to the combustibles within the mines, so that when the supporters were burnt, the whole of the tower and gate fell flat down, but, fortunately for the besieged, the inside wall remained entire, so that the besiegers were not greatly benefited. Several were killed and wounded on both sides by the fall of the towers: one of them at the corner was prevented from falling to the ground by the wall supporting it; and one of the men-at-arms remained on this inclined tower, where he had been posted to guard it, and was in great peril of his life, but was saved by the exertions of the garrison.

At length, when the count de St. Pol had been before this castle of Coucy about three months, a treaty was entered into between him and sir Robert, that he would surrender the castle on condition that he and his garrison should depart unmolested whither they pleased, with all they could carry with them, and should receive, for their expenses, twelve hundred

crowns, or thereabout. When this was concluded, the governor marched off with about fifty combatants, the principal of whom were his son, le Baudrain de Fur, knight, Rigault des Fontaines, before mentioned, and Gaucher de Baissu. The lady de Gaucourt departed also in their company. Sir Robert and the greater part of his men went and fixed their residence at Creve-coeur and in the castle of Cambresis. The count de St. Pol, on the surrender of the castle, appointed sir Gerard de Herbannes governor, with a sufficient garrison. There were with him on this expedition, his nephew, John of Luxembourg, the vidame of Amiens, the lord de Houcourt, and many other nobles and esquires from Picardy, especially such as were his vassals. Having finished this business so successfully, he returned to the king at Paris, who, in consideration of his good qualities, and as a remuneration for his services, nominated him constable of France. The sword of office was delivered to him, and he took the usual oaths, in the room of the lord d'Albreth, who had been dismissed therefrom, being judged unworthy to hold it any longer.

In like manner, the lord de Rambures was appointed master of the cross-bows of France, in the place of the lord de Hangest, who had been dismissed by the king. The lord de Longny, a native of Brittany, was made marshal of France, on the resignation, and with the consent, of the lord de Rieux *, who was superannuated.

CHAPTER LXXXIII.-SIR

PHILIP DE SERVOLLES, BAILIFF OF VITRY, LAYS SIEGE TO THE CASTLE OF MOYENNES.--OTHER PLACES ARE BY THE KING'S OFFICERS REDUCED TO HIS OBEDIENCE.

IN regard to the county of Vertus, the moment sir Philip de Servolles came before the town of that name, it surrendered to the king,-and in like manner all the other places in that county, excepting the castle of Moyennes. In this castle were sir Clugnet de Brabant, his brother John of Brabant, sir Thomas de Lorsies, and many more, who would not on any account submit to the king. The bailiff of Vitry consequently laid siege to it, and made every preparation to conquer it by force. It was, however, in vain; for the garrison were well provided with provision, artillery and stores of all kinds, so that they little feared the besiegers, and very frequently cut off their detachments. The siege lasted for upwards of three months; and at the end of this time, sir Clugnet and sir Thomas de Lorsies, mounted on strong and active coursers, followed by two pages, set out from the castle,—and, galloping through the besieging army, with their lances in their rests, passed safely, striking down all opposers, escaped to Luxembourg, and went to sir Aymé de Sarrebruche to seek for succour. But they did not return with any assistance; for a few days after, John of Brabant was made prisoner in a sally from the castle, and, by order of the king and council, beheaded in the town of Vitry. After this event, the remainder of the garrison surrendered themselves to the king's obedience, on stipulating with the bailiff that they were to have their lives and fortunes spared. He instantly new-garrisoned the castle.

Thus was that whole country reduced to the king's obedience: and that of Clermont followed the example, by surrendering to the vidame of Amiens without making any resistance. The garrisons in the different towns and castles that had done great mischief to the surrounding country, withdrew with all their baggage, under the protection of passports, to the Bourbonois, and were replaced by the king's troops. The bailiff of Amiens was equally successful at Boulogne-sur-mer, which, with all the adjacent places, surrendered, excepting the castle of Boulogne,-the seneschal of which, by name sir Louis de Corail, a native of Auvergne, would not yield it without the permission of his lord, the duke of Berry, who had intrusted it to his guard. The bailiff, however, with his men, destroyed the draw-bridge, and filled up the ditches, so that no one could enter or come out of the castle. A parley took place between the governor and bailiff, when the first was allowed to send to his lord, the duke of Berry, to know if he would consent that the castle should be given up to the king, and hold him discharged for so doing. The duke, in answer, bade him surrender the castle -Louis lord of Loigny, and James lord of Heilly, conmonly called Mareschal of Aquitaine.

John II. lord of Ricux and Rochefort. According to Moreri's catalogue, two mareschals were created this year,

to the king's officers, and come to him at Bourges, which was done. In like manner, all the places in the county of Eu, and in the territory of Gamaches, were surrendered to the king; and the officers who had been placed in them by their lords were dismissed, and others of the king's servants put in their room.

During this time, very large sums of money were raised in Paris and elsewhere, to pay the English troops who had come to serve the duke of Burgundy by permission of the king of England. On receiving their payment, the earl of Arundel, with his men, returned to England by way of Calais; but the earl of Kent* and his troops remained in the service of the duke of Burgundy. At this moment, the Orleans party were in great distress, and knew not where to save themselves; for the instant any of them were discovered, whether secular or ecclesiastic, they were arrested and imprisoned, and some executed,―others heavily fined. Two monks were arrested at this time, namely, master Peter Fresnel, bishop of Noyon, who was taken by sir Anthony de Craon, and carried from Noyon to the castle of Crotoy; the other, the abbot of Foresmoustier, was made prisoner by the lord de Dampierre, admiral of France. They were soon delivered on paying a large ransom, when each returned to his bishopric and monastery.

The lord de Hangest, still calling himself grand master of the French cross-bows, being attached to the Orleans party, had, after the retreat from St. Denis, secretly retired to the castle of Soissons. Having a desire to attempt regaining the king's favour, he sent a poursuivant to demand a safe conduct from Troullart de Moncaurel, bailiff and governor of Senlis, for him to come and reside in that town. The safe conduct was sent to him, and he came to Senlis ; but, because there was no mention of his return in this permission, Troullart made him and fifteen other gentlemen prisoners in the king's name. Shortly after, they were carried to the Châtelet in Paris, to his great displeasure, but he could not prevent it. The count de Roussy also had retired, after the retreat from St. Denis, to his castle of Pont á Arsy sur Aine; but it was instantly surrounded by the peasants of the Laonnois, who increased to about fifteen hundred, and made most terrible assaults on the castle,—and in spite of its deep moat and thick walls, they damaged it very much. These peasants called themselves the king's children. Sir Brun de Barins, knight, bailiff of the Vermandois, and the provost of Laon, came to assist and to command them,-when the count, perceiving the danger he was in, to avoid falling into the hands of these peasants, surrendered himself and his castle to the bailiff of the Vermandois, on condition that his own life, and the lives of all within it, should be spared. The bailiff accepted the terms, and, having re-garrisoned it with the king's troops, carried the count and his men prisoners to Laon, where they remained a long time; but at length, on paying a heavy ransom, they obtained their liberty. The archdeacon of Brie was, in like manner, taken in the tower of Andely by these peasants. He was natural son to the king of Armenia. Sir William de Coussy, who was of the Orleans party, retired to his brother in Lorrain, who was bishop of Metz.

CHAPTER LXXXIV.-THE DUKES OF AQUITAINE AND BURGUNDY MARCHI
ESTAMPES AND DOURDAN.-THE EXECUTION OF SIR MANSART DU BOS
PRISONERS.

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DURING these tribulations, there were so many grievous complaints made to the king and the princes at Paris, of the mischiefs done to the country by the garrisons of Estampes and Dourdan, that notwithstanding it had been determined in council that neither the king nor the duke of Aquitaine should take the field until the winter should be passed, this resolution was overruled by circumstances. On the 23d day of November, the duke of Aquitaine, accompanied by the duke of Burgundy, the counts of Nevers, de la Marche, de Penthievre, de Vaudemont, and the marshal de Boucicaut, with others of rank, and a great multitude of the Parisians on foot, marched out of Paris, with the intent to reduce to the king's obedience the garrisons of Estampes and Dourdan, and some others, who continued the war on the part of the duke of Orleans and his adherents. He halted at Corbeil to wait for the whole 198.

* Sec

P.

of his forces, and thence, with an immense quantity of warlike stores and bombards, with other artillery, marched his army toward Estampes, wherein was sir Louis de Bourdon, who instantly withdrew into the castle. The townsmen immediately returned to their former obedience, and were kindly received by the duke of Aquitaine, in consideration of his uncle the duke of Berry. Sir Louis de Bourdon, however, refused to surrender, although he was summoned many times, when the castle was besieged on all sides. The lord de Ront was at this time prisoner there,—for he had been taken by sir Louis not long before the arrival of the duke of Aquitaine.

Many engines were now pointed against the walls, which they damaged in several places; and in addition, miners were employed to underwork the towers. The siege was carried on with such vigour, that the garrison, thinking it probable they should be taken by storm, opened a parley; and by means of the lord de Ront, surrendered themselves to the duke of Aquitaine. Sir Louis de Bourdon, with some other gentlemen, his confederates, were sent to the Châtelet at Paris. Great part of the wealth of Bourdon, with a most excellent courser of his, were given to the lord de Ront, to make amends for the losses which he sustained when he was made prisoner. The dukes of Aquitaine and Burgundy regarrisoned this place, and then returned with their army to Paris; for, in truth, they could not, from the severity of the winter, make any further progress. A few days after, by order of the duke of Burgundy, many noble prisoners were carried from Paris to the castle of Lille; among whom were the lord de Hangest, sir Louis de Bourdon, the lords de Gerennes, des Fontaines, sir John d'Amboise, and others, who had been arrested for supporting the party of the duke of Orleans. They suffered a long confinement, but were set at liberty on paying a heavy fine. At this period, sir Mansart du Bos was beheaded in the market-place of Paris, his body hung by the shoulders on the gibbet at Montfaucon, and his head affixed to the spike on the top of the market-house. This execution took place at the instance of the duke of Burgundy, because sir Mansart was his liege man, nevertheless he had sent him his challenge at the same time with the brothers of Orleans, as has been before noticed. Not all the solicitations of his friends could save him, and he had many of weight with the duke, who endeavoured earnestly to obtain his pardon; but it was in vain, for the duke had resolved upon his death. There were in the prisons of the Châtelet, and in other prisons of Paris, very many of the Orleans party, who perished miserably through cold, famine, and neglect. When dead, they were inhumanly dragged out of the town, and thrown into the ditches, a prey to dogs, birds, and wild beasts. The reason of such cruel conduct was, their having been several times denounced from the pulpits, and proclaimed from the squares, as excommunicated persons. It seemed, however, to many discreet men, as well noble as of the church, that it was a great scandal thus to treat those who were Christians and acknowledged the laws of JESUS CHRIST. The same rigorous conduct being persevered in, a short time after, a valiant knight, called sir Peter de Famechon, was beheaded in the market-place of Paris: he was of the household and family of the duke of Bourbon,—and his head was affixed to a lance like the others. The duke of Bourbon was much exasperated at his death, especially when he was informed of the disgraceful circumstances that had attended it. At this time, therefore, all who sided with the Armagnacs, and were taken, ran great risk of their lives; for there were few that dared speak in their favour, however near their connexions might be.

CHAPTER LXXXV.-THE KING OF FRANCE SENDS DIFFERENT CAPTAINS WITH TROOPS TO HARASS THE ARMAGNACS ON THE FRONTIERS. THE DEFEAT OF THE COUNT DE LA MARCHE.

MANY of the nobles and captains were now sent by the king to the countries of such as were confederates with the duke of Orleans and his party. In the number, the count de la Marche was ordered into the Orleanois, to subject it to the king's obedience, in company with the lord de Hambre.

Aymé de Vitry, Fierbourd, and others, were sent against the duke of Bourbon, who had done much mischief to the country of Charolois; and having a large force with them, they

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

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