ページの画像
PDF
ePub
[graphic]

disturbances; and likewise that he would be pleased to elect a sufficient number, so that the weight of the business of the kingdom may not be entrusted to two or three, as has been hitherto the case.-The king replies, that he has always selected for his council the most able men of his realm, without thinking on what may have passed during the late disturbances, which he has put clean out of his remembrance, and in such numbers as the state of public affairs at different periods may have required.

Item, the nobles request the king to receive favourably these remonstrances, in consideration of the four reasons already laid before him, which have induced them thus to make them. They also remonstrate with him on the case of the lord duke of Alençon, required that he should be restored to his town of Niort, or that payment be promptly made him in money for the loss of it; that he should be re-established in his lieutenancy and pension; and that his place of Sainte Susanne should be delivered up to him, together with an Englishman whom he had made prisoner, and that speedy and equitable justice be done him. The king makes answer to these demands, that when he was in Poitou, putting an end to the pillaging and robberies that were going on there, and taking possession of several towns and castles the resort of the robbers, he was suspicious that, during his absence for the relief of Tartas, the town and castle of Niort would continue these evil practices as it had been accustomed to do, and consequently laid hands on it with the intent of paying its full value. But though the whole amount was not at that time paid, he had given to the lord d'Alençon six thousand crowns, with an engagement to that lord to make the remainder of the payments punctually at the time specified in writing, without making any deductions for the rents which the lord d'Alençon had continued to receive since the first payment had been made.

In regard to re-establishing him in his lieutenancy and pension, when the lord d'Alençon shall conduct himself in a becoming manner toward his sovereign, the king will treat him as a relative and subject, holding in his mind the nearness of their kindred, and the services which he and his ancestors may have rendered to the king and the realm. This the king continued to do, until he was obliged to change his behaviour from the fault of the lord d'Alençon. In respect to the place of Sainte Susanne*, the king has not given it to the lord de Bueil, nor is it held by him by the king's orders. The lord de Bueil is fully able to answer the lord d'Alençon's accusation respecting his holding this place wrongfully. Whenever the lord d'Alençon shall appeal to the king's justice, it shall be willingly and duly administered; and in like manner shall he have justice done him in regard to the prisoner whom he demands.

Item, the nobles also made a requisition that the duke of Bourbon should have his pension restored to him, for that it was not excessive. The king replied that he had regularly continued the payments of this pension, and nothing was now due. Of fourteen thousand and four hundred francs, the whole amount of this pension, the king had ordered nine thousand francs to be paid to the duke's servants at Bressuret, in the month of January last, but which they refused to receive; and the king wonders greatly how this matter has been, at this moment, introduced.-Item, they likewise mention the case of the lord de Vendôme, and supplicate the king that he would be pleased to continue to him his former pensions, of which he has great need, as there were not sufficient grounds for striking them off; and that it would please the king to permit him to exercise his office of grand master of the household, as he had usually done in former times. The king answers that he did not dismiss the lord de Vendôme from his household, but that he dismissed himself; and when the lord de Vendôme shall conduct himself toward the king in a proper manner, the king will do on his part all that shall be thought right.

Item, the nobles beg leave to state the case of the lord de Nevers; and, considering how near akin he is to the king, and that the lord his father died in his service, and also the services the present lord may render to his majesty, to solicit that all opposition to his establishing a warehouse for salt, at the town of Arcy-sur-Aube, may be removed, and that

Sainte Susanne,- -a village in Normandy, election of St. Lô: or it may be a city in Maine, nine leagues from Mans.

+ Bressure. Q. Bressolles? a village in the Bourbonnois, near Moulins.

he may receive the accustomed payment of his pension. The king makes for answer, that, notwithstanding the very heavy charges he is now at for the expenses of the war, out of favour, and in kindness to the lord de Nevers, he consents to his having his former pension, -for the payment of which he will receive the protection-money of the Rethelois, as far as it shall go; and the balance shall be paid from the amount of the taxes on the lands of the said lord de Nevers, until he shall have received the whole sum. But the king is much dissatisfied that the lord de Nevers should suffer his vassals, and those of others, to overrun and despoil the country of Champagne, by means of the country of the Rethelois, to which they retreat, and expects that such measures will be taken to prevent it in future as will satisfy him. In regard to the salt-warehouse at Arcy-sur-Aube, the king wishes that the matter be laid before his court of exchequer, for them to decide whether the lord de Nevers be entitled or not to have a warehouse for salt at that place,--and whatever their decision may be, the king will conform to it.

The nobles remonstrate also on the case of the duke of Burgundy, not by way of complaint, but in the manner he had desired them, namely, to make the king acquainted that many articles of the treaty of peace between them had not been fulfilled on the part of the king,and that several were daily attempted to be infringed, contrary to the intent of the peace, and to the great loss of the duke of Burgundy. The king replies, that he always most ardently wished for peace with the duke of Burgundy, and to obtain it has nothing spared. The king has hitherto maintained the peace inviolate, and has the intention of ever doing so. For the better establishing of this peace, the king gave his daughter in marriage to the duke's son the lord de Charolois. As for the non-performance of some of the articles, the duke has seen what weighty affairs the king has had on his hands to prevent its being done, but he has the will and inclination to have the remaining articles fulfilled as speedily as he possibly can, and in such wise that the duke of Burgundy shall be satisfied. As for the daily attempts to infringe the peace, the king is perfectly ignorant of any such being made, for he has never given the least encouragement to them, but the king has great cause for grief at the business which is now carrying forward.

When the ambassadors from the nobles had remained some days at the king's palace, where they were very honourably entertained, and had discussed at length the subjects of complaint in the remonstrance they had brought, as well as the answers thereto from the king, as well in writing as verbally, they took leave, and returned to their lords. The king, however, was very uneasy at his nobles thus assembling without his being present, for they were daily attended by some of the greatest lords in the realm; and his ministers reported to him, that these meetings were not for his welfare; that the nobles were endeavouring to gain to their party the barons of his realm, the churchmen, and the common people, to make great reforms, and to place the government of the kingdom in the three estates, which must turn out to his destruction; for, if they succeeded in their plans, he would possess no other authority than the three estates should be pleased to allow him. The king said, that he could not believe that his nobles would be desirous to do anything to his prejudice, or to the prejudice of his crown,—and more especially that the duke of Burgundy, with whom he had so lately made peace, would interfere or consent to anything so destructive to the royal authority. He added, that if he were assured they intended to bring forward such measures to his prejudice, he would lay all other matters aside, and instantly attack them with his forces.

[ocr errors]

CHAPTER CCLXV.-KING CHARLES ASSEMBLES A LARGE BODY OF MEN-AT-ARMS, AND MARCHES THEM TO TARTAS, WHERE, HOWEVER, THE ENGLISH DO NOT APPEAR. [A. D. 1442.]

AT the beginning of this year, the king of France issued his summonses throughout his realm, for the assembly of a very large force to carry on his warlike enterprises, and to relieve the town of Tartas, whither he intended marching in consequence of a time being fixed for its surrender, unless relieved by the king. He was determined now to have the greatest army that had been raised during his reign: indeed, there was much necessity for

it,-for, had he neglected this business, he ran great risk of losing all Gascony and Guienne and the obedience of the greater part of the lords in those countries. This army was collected with all diligence in the different parts of the kingdom, and ordered to march by various roads, and rendezvous at Toulouse. The day of relief had been fixed for the first of May,but at the request of the English captains who had signed the capitulation at Tartas, it was prolonged to the ensuing feast of St. John Baptist, and during this time, the king continued his preparations.

At length the king marched from Toulouse, and for a truth, when he, his great lords and all the captains, with their men, were assembled, there were four-score thousand horse, and carts and cars without number to carry artillery, provision, and stores of all descriptions. Almost all the principal nobility came thither, among whom were the dauphin, the count de Richemont constable of France, the lord Charles d'Anjou, the count d'Eu, the count de Foix *, the viscount de Helman †, son to the count d'Armagnac, the lord d'Albreth, the count de Comminges, the two marshals, namely, the lords de Lohéac ‡ and de Jaloignee §, who. commanded the vanguard with the constable, the lord de Coetivy admiral of France, the lord de Villars, the lord de Mongascon ||, the lord de St. Priath, the lord de Chalenton ¶, the lord de St. Valier, the lord de Videmont, and many more great lords. The king was also accompanied by numbers of adventurous men-at-arms, the flower of French chivalry, who had for a long while followed warlike enterprises, such as La Hire, Poton de Saintrailles, Anthony de Chabannes, Olivier de Coetivy, the lord de Blainville, and his brother sir Robert Blanchefort, Pennesach **, Floquet, Joachim Rohault, Pierre Rohault, Mathelin de l'Escouan, Dominic de Court, and many others of renown.

On the king's arrival at Toulouse, he was informed by the lords of Gascony, that the English were not in force sufficient to oppose him on the day appointed for the relief of Tartas. Having called a council, it was therefore determined to advance thither with only part of the army, that they might more easily obtain provisions. The king marched from Toulouse with but sixteen thousand horse,―among whom, however, were most of the lords and captains above named. He was lodged at a small town called Meillan††, two leagues from Tartas, belonging to the count d'Albreth, but in the possession of the count de Foix, and his men were quartered round about. On the morrow, which was the day fixed on for the surrender of Tartas unless relieved by the king of France, the king drew up his men in battle-array before the town, and thus remained from early morn until ten or eleven o'clock in the forenoon,-when the lords de Coignac and Enguerrot de Sainct Per, who had the command of the place, appeared before him, and brought with them the young Charles d'Albret, who had remained in the town as an hostage. They surrendered the keys of Tartas into the king's hands,-and at the same time, the lord de Coignac did him homage, but Enguerrot retired to the city of Dax. The lord d'Albret now entered Tartas,—and the

king went to sleep at Coignac, which is a pretty good town, about two leagues distant from Tartas, where he remained on St. John's day and the ensuing one.

* Archambaud de Greilly, Captal de Buche, who became count de Foix as before-mentioned, in right of his wife Isabel, sister and heir to Matthew de Chateaubon, died in 1412, leaving five sons, of whom John, the eldest, was count de Foix, and died in 1437, leaving Gaston IV. his successor, and Peter, lord of Lautrec and Villemur, his two sons. Gaston IV. (the count of Foix here mentioned) bad for his mother a daughter of the count d'Albret; and marrying Eleanor, daughter of John king of Arragon by his first wife the queen of Navarre, transmitted to his grandson Francis Phoebus the title to that kingdom. Of the four remaining sons of count Archambaud, Peter was a cardinal; Archambaud was lord of Noailles, killed by the dauphin at Montereau, in company with John duke of Burgundy; Gaston was Captal de Buche, count of Longueville and Benanges; and Matthew was count of Comminges, in right of his wife the heiress of that county. This Matthew died in 1453, leaving by his second wife, Catherine de Coras, two daughters only. The title of Comminges was then given by Louis XI. (who claimed it as a male fief) to the bastard of Armagnac, commonly called De Lescun.

† Helman. Lomaigne.-Du Cange.

Andrew de Laval, lord de Lobéac, second son of Guy XIII., and brother of Guy XIV., lord of Laval. He was admiral of France after Louis de Culant, but resigned that office to be made a marshal in 1439. He married Mary de Laval, lady of Retz, widow of the admiral de Coctivy, by whom he had no issue, and died in 1486.

§ Philip de Culant, lord of Jaloignes, seneschal of the Limousin, created a marshal of France the year before, on occasion of the siege of Pontoise. He died in 1454, without issue. He was nephew to Louis lord of Culant, admiral of France, and younger brother to Charles de Culant, lord of Chateauneuf, &c.; grand-master in 1449.

Godfrey, second son of Bertrand de la Tour, count of Auvergne and Boulogne, bore the title of Montgascon. He was betrothed to Jane de Brezé, daughter of Peter, count de Maulevrier, but afterwards married Anne de Beaufort, daughter of the marquis de Canillae.

Chalenton. Chalencon.-DU CANGE. **Pennesach. Vennensach.-DU CANGE. †† Mcillan,—a small town in Gascony, near Tartas.

CHAPTER CCLXVI.—THE KING OF FRANCE, AFTER GAINING TARTAS, COMES BEFORE SAINT SEVERE, AND CONQUERS THAT TOWN AND CASTLE, WITH SOME OTHERS IN GASCONY. On the Wednesday following the surrender of Tartas, the king of France marched his army before the town of Saint Severe*, whither, as it was very strongly fortified with five bastions, the whole country had withdrawn with their cattle and effects. The dauphin's men, on their arrival, made an attack on two of these bastions with such success that they gained them, and lodged themselves therein. Within a few days, another was won by the king's division, who ordered an immediate attack on the fourth: the English made a vigorous defence, but were driven thence, and pursued as far as the gate of the principal bastion. The French continued their attacks on this place, without having had any orders from the king or his captains,—and they lasted for a long time with great valour on both sides; but at length the French gained the victory, and conquered the place by storm, putting to death about eight hundred English, with the loss of from twenty to thirty of their own men, but in that number was the little Blanchefort.

The town was won on the side where the constable attacked it, when on the part of the English, sir Thomas Rampstone and a few more were made prisoners. The king after this conquest, remained there for twelve days, and thence marched to besiege the town of Dax, which occupied him for the space of five weeks, as there was a strong fortification in front of one of the gates. When the battering cannon had partly demolished the walls of the town, orders were given for storming this fortification, which held out most obstinately for five hours, but was at last won about nightfall. Ten or twelve English were killed and very many of the French wounded. The king withdrew his men after this event, with the exception of those who had the guard of it. On the ensuing day, the townsmen of Dax, fearing that a stronger attack would now be made on their town, surrendered themselves to the king, except the lord de Montferrand, governor of the town for the English, and the before-mentioned Enguerrot de St. Per, who were permitted to march out in safety, but with staves in their hands. The lord de Montferrand also promised to surrender into the king's hands two castles which he held near to Bordeaux,-for the due performance of which he gave his son in hostage. He remained a prisoner a long time, because the lord de Montferrand refused to keep his promise of surrendering these two castles.

Gascony and Guienne were at this time governed, for the king of England, by the captal de Buch, the lord de Montferrand and sir Thomas Rampstone, seneschal of Bordeaux. In the absence of the king of France, the English reconquered the town and castles of Saint Severe; but the king shortly after, marched back his army thither, retook it by storm, and put numbers of English to death. At this time, all the towns and castles of the lord de la Rochetaillade turned, and did homage to the king of France.

The king of France next marched to Marmondet, which opened its gates to him, and thence to La Réolet. It was vigorously besieged, and the town was taken by storm; but the castle held out for about six weeks, when it surrendered on the garrison being allowed to march away in safety. Olivier de Cointiny was appointed by the king governor of this and of other places that had been conquered in the course of the expedition. The baron of Dax commanded in La Réole for the king of England,-but he afterward turned to the French interest.

While these conquests were making, the English much distressed the French, particularly by encouraging their peasantry to harass their scouting parties, so that, from the multitudes in the French army they frequently suffered famine. Great numbers of their horses died; a severe loss to those adventurers who had been accustomed to keep the field all the year round. Many of them, in consequence, quitted the army in search of provision for themselves and horses, and advanced as far as Navarre, where they committed all sorts of mischief on the poor farmers. In another quarter, the English collected a body of men, and through friends * Saint Severe,-near to Coignac. La Réole, on the road between Bordeaux and

Marmonde, a town on the Garonne, between Bor- Toulouse. deaux and Toulouse.

[graphic]

in the town, regained the city of Dax from the French. The governor, Regnault Guillaume le Bourguignon, was made prisoner, and most part of his garrison put to the sword. The king of France was much vexed at thus losing a place, through the neglect of the governor, which had cost him so long a time and such an expense to conquer.

When the king of France had remained for seven or eight months in Gascony, where he had made such valuable conquests, he considered the dreadful state of his army, and the danger it was daily exposed to from want of provision, and resolved to direct his march toward Montauban. He staid at Montauban about two months, whence he issued his orders for the defence of the country, and then, by slow marches, returned to Poitiers.

Shortly after the king had left Montauban, La Hire, who had suffered extremely in this expedition, and was advanced in years, died in the castle of that town. The king, on hearing of his death, was much affected, and ordered that his widow should possess the lands he had given to him for his life.

CHAPTER

CCLXVII.-PIERRE DE REGNAULT IS FORCED TO DISLODGE FROM THE CASTLE OF
MAILLY.*

I HAVE before noticed how Pierre de Regnault had taken possession of the castle of Mailly, two leagues distant from Beauvais, which he had repaired and refortified. He had with him about two hundred determined combatants, with whom he overran the countries round, seizing and carrying off to his fort all he could find, as well from those dependent on the king of France as from others. He overran, in particular, the dependencies of the duke of Burgundy, the count d'Estampes, and other great lords of that party: he even at times crossed the river Somme, and advanced into Artois, twelve or fifteen leagues from his castle. He acted in like manner within the castlewicks of Peronne, Roye, and Mondidier, where he made some capital prisoners, who paid large sums for their ransoms, just the same as an enemy would have done in time of war, so that the country was grievously harassed,-- and heavy complaints were made frequently to the superior lords, who were much vexed at this conduct. The duke of Burgundy at last sent to remonstrate with the king of France on this destruction of his country, and to require that a remedy be applied. The king gave a similar answer to what he had done before: that he was much concerned at what had happened, and would be well pleased if the duke should conquer Pierre de Regnault whenever he found him marauding on his territories, or that he would besiege him in his castle of Mailly, and drive him thence; that he would send positive orders to all his captains in that part of the country not to give him the smallest aid against the troops of the duke of Burgundy, under pain of incurring his highest indignation.

The duke was satisfied with this answer, and began to arrange his plans accordingly. He concluded a treaty with some of the English captains on the frontier of Normandy, that they should give security not to molest his men nor aid the enemy; and when he was assured that neither French nor English would take part against him in this business, he sent orders from Burgundy, where he then was, to the count d'Estampes, who had the government of Picardy, to collect as many men as he could raise, and march against the castle of Mailly. The count on this made great diligence, and assembled in a short time twelve hundred combatants, knights, esquires, and others, the most expert warriors in Picardy and in the adjoining parts. In the number were Waleran de Moreul, Guy de Roye, Jean d'Ange, the lord de Saveuses, Simon de Lalain, Jean de Haplaincourt, Charles de Rochefort, sir Colart de Mailly, and many more great lords and gentlemen.

The rendezvous was in the town of Amiens, whence they marched with a numerous train of artillery, stores, and baggage, to Beauvais. The count and great lords were handsomely received in that town, and their men were quartered in the villages round. The count d'Estampes lost no time in advancing to the castle of Mailly, and posted his men as near as he could to the gate, the strongest part of the castle, and to the lower court, which had been newly strengthened with casks and beams of timber. The garrison defended themselves

Mailly, a town in Picardy, near Peronne.

« 前へ次へ »