CHAPTER CLXXXI. -THE KING OF FRANCE FORMS A CAMP BETWEEN PONT DE L'ARCHE AND PONT DE ST. PIERRE.-ARMOUR WHICH THE DUKE OF BRITTANY HAD ORDERED FROM MILAN IS INTERCEPTED. -THE KING TAKEN ILL AT TOURS.-DURING CERTAIN PILGRIMAGES HE MAKES, HE VISITS THE DAUPHIN AT AMBOISE, AND GOES THENCE TO ST. CLAUDE.-A GREAT FAMINE THIS YEAR.

[A. D. 1481.]

EARLY in this year the king ordered an enclosed camp, which he had caused to be made of wood, to be erected on a large plain near Pont de l'Arche, to be ready when he should take the field against his enemies, and went thither to see it. Within were posted a numerous body of men armed with pikes and halberds, according to his new regulations. The command of these troops was given to sir Philip de Crevecoeur, lord des Cordes, and to master William Picard, bailiff of Rouen. The king ordered the men to remain in this camp the space of a month, to see how it would answer, and what sorts of provision would be the most suitable to them. This camp was ordered to be ready on the 15th of June; and the king, on his way thither, celebrated the feast of Whitsuntide at the church of Our Lady in Chartres. Thence he came to Pont de l'Arche, and to this large inclosure, which was formed between Pont de l'Arche and Pont de Saint Pierre. One side of the inclosure had a ditch on the outside, and within were pitched tents and pavilions, with the artillery and all requisite stores. The king judged from its proportions what quantity of provision would be necessary were the space completely filled with all he intended to send. When he had visited and fully examined it, he departed, very well satisfied, for Chartres, Selome, Vendôme, and Tours, having ordered the troops that had been encamped to march back to their former quarters.

The duke of Brittany had sent, in the course of this year, to purchase armour at Milan; such as cuirasses, salades, &c. which were packed up with cotton to prevent their rattling, and like bales of silks. These packages were put on mules, and arrived in safety until they came to the mountains of Auvergne, when the officers of John Doyac* seized them and sent instant information thereof to the king, who, by way of recompense, gave the armour to John Doyac and his servants.

The vines almost universally failed this year throughout France, and the wines of the preceding year, though of little worth, were sold in consequence at an extravagant price: what at the beginning of the year was sold for four deniers the bottle at taverns, now rose to twelve. Some merchants of Paris, who had preserved their wines at Champigny-sur-Marne and other places, sold it by retail very dear, viz. at not less than two sols parisis the bottle, which was at the rate of thirty-six livres the hogshead. The scarcity was so great that the wine-merchants were obliged to fetch wine from the farther parts of Spain, which was brought to Paris.

The garrisons on the frontiers of Picardy and Flanders, regardless of the truce, made constant inroads on each other, carrying on a deadly warfare; for whatever prisoners were made, they were unmercifully hanged by both parties, without ever accepting of ransoms.

The king, when recovering from his late illness, set out from Tours for Thouars, where he had a relapse, and was in great danger of dying. To obtain better health, he sent great offerings, and large sums of money, to divers churches, and made many religious foundations. Among others, he founded in the Holy Chapel at Paris a perpetual mass, to be daily chaunted at seven o'clock in the morning, in honour of St. John, by eight choristers from Provence, who had belonged to the chapel of the late Réné king of Sicily, and on his decease had been taken into the service of the king of France. He established one thousand livres parisis as the fund for this mass, to be received annually from the receipt of taxes on all sea-fish sold in the markets at Paris. The king had also vowed to make a pilgrimage to St. Claude †, which he undertook, but went first to make his offerings to our Lady of Clery, and thence

John Doyac was governor of the province of Auvergne.

departed for St. Claude. For the security of his person, he was escorted by eight hundred lances, and a large force of infantry, amounting in all to six thousand combatants. Before he set out from Touraine, he went to Amboise to see his son the dauphin, whom he had but little noticed, gave him his blessing, and put him under the care of the lord de Beaujeu, whom he made lieutenant-general of the kingdom during his absence. The king declared to the dauphin that he must obey the lord de Beaujeu in whatever he should order him, the same as if he himself were present and gave the orders.

Corn was exceedingly dear this year throughout France, more especially in the Lyonnois, Bourbonnois, and in Auvergne, insomuch that great numbers of people died of famine; and had it not been for the profuse alms and succours from such as had corn, the mortality would have been more than doubled. Crowds of poor people left the above-named provinces, and came to Paris and other great towns. They were lodged in the barn and convent of St. Catherine-du-Val-des-écoliers, whither the good citizens of both sexes came from Paris to relieve and nurse them. They were at length carried to the great hospital, where the most part of them died; for when they attempted to eat they could not, having fasted so long that their stomachs were ruined.

CHAPTER CLXXXII. -THE DEATHS OF THE LADY JANE OF FRANCE, DUCHESS OF BOURBON, AND OF THE COUNTESS OF FLANDERS, AND ALSO OF SEVERAL PERSONS AT PARIS.— EVENTS THAT HAPPENED THERE. THE KING RETURNS FROM HIS PILGRIMAGE TO ST. CLAUDE TO NOTRE-DAME OF CLERY, AND TO OTHER PLACES. AMBASSADORS ARRIVE FROM FLANDERS.-OF THE CAPTURE OF THE TOWN OF AIRE.-OF THE ASSASSINATION OF THE LORD LOUIS OF BOURBON, BISHOP OF LIEGE. OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED IN THE COURSE OF THE ABOVE YEAR.

[A. D. 1482.]

ON Thursday the 4th of May, between four and five in the afternoon, that noble example of good morals and virtue, the lady Jane of France, wife to John duke of the Bourbonnois and Auvergne, departed this life, in her castle of Moulins in the Bourbonnois, in consequence of a fever, which the art of medicine could not subdue. She was buried in the church of our Lady at that town, and was greatly lamented by her lord, her servants, and indeed by all in France who were any way acquainted with her virtues, and the many excellent qualities she was endowed with. Some little time prior to this event died the countess of Flanders and of Artois, sole child to the late Charles duke of Burgundy, wife to the duke of Austria, and niece to the duke of Bourbon*. She left issue two children, a son and a daughter, who remained at Ghent under the guardianship of the Flemings.

In this same year of 1482, many noble persons of both sexes died of fevers, and other incurable disorders. In the number were, the archbishops of Narbonne and Bourges, the bishop of Lisieux, master John le Boulenger, first president of the parliament, sir Charles de Gaucourt, lieutenant for the king in the town of Paris, who was much regretted,—for he was a handsome frank knight, a prudent man, and very learned. Several counsellors and advocates of the parliament died also: among others, master Nicolle Bataille, who was said to be the greatest lawyer in all France, a good and pleasant companion, and was, not without reason, much lamented. It was said that he died of indignation and grief at the conduct of

• Her death was occasioned by a fall from her horse while bunting. Maximilian was really much attached to her. But if he had not been so, his sorrow for her loss could scarcely have been the less sincere, as the death of their natural sovereign left him with very little personal claim on the affections of the states of Flanders and other parts of her remaining dominions. Her only son was Philip of Austria duke of Burgundy, who, by his marriage with Joanna the heiress of Castille and Arragon, transmitted the kingdom of Spain to his posterity. Her VOL. II.

daughter Margaret was first affianced to the dauphin, but afterwards most imprudently rejected by him for Ann of Bretagne. She was then affianced to John prince of Spain; but he died before the solemnization of the nuptials. At last she found a husband in Philibert the fair, duke of Savoy, but had no children by him; and after his death (which happened within three years from the time of their union) she retired to the court of the emperor her father, and became, towards the end of her life, justly celebrated as the governess of the Low Countrics. She died in 1532.

G G

his wife, the daughter of the late master Nicolle Erlaut, who had been treasurer of Dauphiny. Notwithstanding that she had enjoyed all possible pleasure with her husband, had brought him twelve children, and he was not more than forty-four years of age when he died, yet she conducted herself most wantonly, and like a common strumpet, with several rakish fellows, during her marriage. In the number, she was particularly attached to a young lad called Regnault la Pie, son to a woman who sold sea-fish in the Paris market. He had been formerly in great confidence with the king, as his valet-de-chambre, but had been dismissed for some faults and irregularities, of which Olivier le Diable, called Le Daim, his companion, and barber to the king, had accused him. This woman became passionately fond of him, and for his support sold or pawned her jewels, and the plate of her husband, and even robbed her husband of money to give to her lover. Of all this the husband was informed: and anger and grief thereat caused his death, which was a great loss. May his soul rest in repose in the kingdom of Heaven!

The king returned from St. Claude to the abbey of Our Lady at Clery very ill. He performed nine days' devotion there; and by the grace of the blessed Virgin, in whom he had singular faith, he went away greatly recovered and eased of his complaints. During his stay at Clery, there was great mortality in his household: among others died a doctor of divinity, whom he had lately appointed his counsellor and almoner; he was the son of a butcher, a native of Tours, and his name was doctor Martin Magistri. The king, on leaving Clery, went to Mehun-sur-Loire, and to St. Laurens des Eaux, and remained thereabouts until the middle of August, when he returned to Clery to celebrate the feast of the Virgin. While at Clery, a handsome embassy came to him from Flanders, who explained to his ministers that the cause of their coming was to endeavour to obtain a conference to be holden, for that the sole wish of the country of Flanders was to have a lasting peace with the king. These ambassadors were well received by hiin; and he gave such answers as satisfied them. On their return to Flanders, they were, by the king's orders, conducted by the lord de St. Pierre to Paris, and well feasted by the provost of marchands and sheriffs thence they set out for Ghent, and the other towns in Flanders whence they had come. After the return of the Flemish ambassadors, the king ordered the troops that were in garrison in Picardy to take the field under the command of the lord des Cordes. This army made a fine appearance, consisting of fourteen hundred well-furnished lances, six thousand Swiss, and eight thousand pikes. They marched triumphantly, but without noise, to lay siege to the town of Aire, which is a considerable place between St. Omer and Therouenne, and was garrisoned by a party from the duke of Austria. The French soon opened their batteries and frightened the inhabitants; but some of the captains of the garrison, having a good understanding with the lord des Cordes, concluded a capitulation for the surrender of the place to him. It was managed by a knight called the lord des Contrans*, who was of Picardy, and governor of the town for the duke of Austria. On his surrendering the place, he took the oaths of allegiance to serve the king faithfully; and the king, as a recompense, gave him the command of a hundred lances. He also received thirty thousand golden crowns in ready money.

In the months of August and September of this year, sir William de la Mark †, surnamed the Wild Boar of the Ardennes, conspired to levy a bloody war against that noble prince, and reverend father in God, the lord Louis de Bourbon, bishop of Liege, by whom he had been brought up and educated. His object was to assassinate the bishop, that his brother might succeed him in the bishopric. To assist him in his abominable enterprise, the king of France supplied him with men; and he collected in and about Paris a body of three thousand good-for-nothing fellows, whom he clothed in scarlet jackets, having on their left sleeve the figure of a boar's head. They were lightly armed; and in this state he led them into the country of Liege, where, on his arrival, having intelligence with some traitors in the city, he urged them to excite the bishop to march out of the town, that he might accomplish his ends on him. Under pretence, therefore, of attachment to his person, they advised him

*Lord des Contrans. It is Colem in Comines.

Third son of John the First, count of Aremberg, and brother of Robert de la Marck, first duke of Bouillon.

strongly to march against the enemy at the gates, and assured him that they would all follow him in arms, and support and defend him to the last drop of their blood, and there was not the smallest doubt but the Wild Boar would be defeated with disgrace. The bishop complied with their advice, sallied out of Liege, and advanced to where La Mark was posted. La Mark, observing this, quitted his ambush and marched straight to the bishop; and the traitors of Liege, now finding their bishop in the hands of his enemy, fled back to their town without striking a blow. The bishop was greatly dismayed at this,--for he had now no one with him but his servants and vassals; while La Mark came up to him, and without saying a word, gave him a severe cut across the face, and then killed him with his own hand. This done, La Mark had the body stripped and placed naked in front of the cathedral church of St. Lambert in Liege, where he was shown dead to all the inhabitants who wished to see him. Almost immediately after his death, the duke of Austria, the prince of Orange, and the count de Romont, arrived with troops to succour him; but on hearing of his unfortunate fate they marched away without doing anything*.

CHAPTER CLXXXIII.—THE KING'S ILLNESS CONTINUING, HE COMES FROM TOURS TO AMBOISE, TO RECOMMEND TO HIS SON OLIVIER LE DAIM.-OF THE MARRIAGE OF THE DAUPHIN WITH THE COUNTESS MARGARET OF FLANDERS.-A PEACE CONCLUDED BETWEEN THE KINGS OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND, WHICH INCLUDES THE GOOD DUKE OF ALBANY.— THE KING RECOMMENDS HIS HEALTH TO THE DEVOTIONS OF THE MONKS OF THE CHURCH OF ST. DENIS.

THE king was again so dangerously ill, at Plessis le Parc, that he was much afraid of dying, and, for this reason, was carried to Amboise to see his son. He made many wise remonstrances to him on the state of his kingdom; and, as he thought his was an incurable disorder, he exhorted him, after his decease, to have some of his most faithful servants, whom he would name, in his good remembrance. He mentioned first, master Olivier le Diable, called le Daim, his barber, and John de Doyac, governor of Auvergne, as having served him loyally; and that Olivier had done him most essential services, which he could never have accomplished himself without his aid; that Olivier was a foreigner; and he advised him to make use of him, and keep him in those offices which he had given him. The king recommended also the lord du Bocage, and sir Guyot Pot, bailiff of the Vermandois, charging the dauphin to follow their counsels, which he had always found good and prudent. He desired of his son that he would not dismiss any from their offices, and that he would pay every attention to his poor people, whom he had reduced to great distress and poverty. He remonstrated with him on many other subjects, which were afterward made public in the court of parliament, and in the principal towns of the realm t. The king advised the dauphin to give the command of his troops to the lord des Cordes, whom he had always found able and trusty, of excellent conduct, and a notable knight. Having held this discourse, the king then returned to Plessis, near Tours.

At this time, the king sent for a number of musicians, who played on low-toned instruments, whom he lodged at St. Come, near to Tours. They were about six-score in number, and, with some shepherds from Poitou, that played on their pipes, assembled before the king's apartments, but never saw him, and there played for his amusement, and to prevent him from falling asleep. On the other hand, he collected a great many devout people of

* Louis XI. is exculpated by Du Clos, in the account which he gives of this transaction, from any concern in the bishop's murder other than that of having furnished "the Wild Boar" with the means of raising a force for the purpose of securing a passage through the territories of Liege for the French armies in any future attempts to subdue the country of Brabant. When the bishop was so treacherously abandoned by his followers, "the Wild Boar" advanced directly to him and thus addressed him:

"Louis of Bourbon, I have sought thy friendship, and thou hast refused it to me." Saying this, he clove his head with a battle-axe, and ordered his body to be thrown into the Meuse. The crime did not pass unpunished, the murderer being executed at Utrecht two years afterwards by order of Maximilian.

† See the 366th number of Proofs to the memoirs of Comines, for a copy of the instructions of Louis XI. to the dauphin.

both sexes, such as hermits, and others of holy lives, to pray incessantly to God that his days might be prolonged *.

In the months of October and November, an embassy arrived from Flanders; and the king referred them to master John de la Vacquerie, a native of Picardy, and who had lately been appointed first president of the court of parliament, the lord des Cordes, and others. They held frequent conferences, and at length agreed to a treaty of peace between the king and the Flemings; and by one of the articles, the dauphin was to marry the daughter of the duke of Austria, then under the guardianship of the town of Ghent. The king was much rejoiced at this, and was very willing to sign the treaty. Te Deums were chaunted throughout the realm, for joy of this event, and bonfires made in all the streets of Tours †. It was now reported, that the Flemish ambassadors were gone to Ghent, to bring back to Paris their countess; and that the king had ordered the lady of Beaujeu, his eldest daughter, the countess of Dunoist, sister to the queen, the lady of Thouars, the lady of the lord admiral, and other ladies and damsels, to be ready to receive her, as it was expected she would arrive at Paris about the 8th of December: but her arrival was postponed until some trifling matters of dispute, that had arisen on the part of the Flemings, should be settled.

In this year, a war broke out between the kings of England and Scotland; and the Scots advanced very far into England, where they did much mischief: but notwithstanding the Scots were one hundred thousand men more than the English, a treaty was entered into by means of the duke of Albany, brother to the king of Scotland. The duke of Albany had laid claim to the crown of Scotland, which he said his brother had usurped from him; for that they were twin-children, and he had been the first that was delivered on earth, and therefore, by right of seniority, the crown was his. The duke of Albany had concluded a treaty with the English, which had prevented any battle being fought: and the Scots army returned to their country, and the English to their garrisons §.

In the month of January, the Flemish ambassadors, who had concluded a peace by means of the marriage of the dauphin with the lady Margaret of Austria, returned to France. By orders from the king, the principal persons of Paris went out to meet them, having at their head the bishop of Marseilles, the king's lieutenant in Paris, the provost of marchands, and the sheriffs. A doctor in divinity, named Scourable, made the ambassadors a fine harangue, which pleased them greatly. On the morrow, which was Sunday, the 4th of January, they attended high mass at the church of Notre-Dame, whither a general procession was made; and the doctor, Scourable, preached an excellent sermon, which gave much satisfaction. Deum was sung, and bonfires were made, and public tables were spread in the principal streets. When the church-service was over, the ambassadors were grandly entertained by the city of Paris in the town-hall.

The lord cardinal of Bourbon was as much, if not more, rejoiced than any one, on peace being restored and in honour of it had a splendid morality, or farce, exhibited at his hôtel of Bourbon, which numbers of the Parisians went to see, and were much delighted with their entertainment. It would have been more brilliant, but the weather was very rainy and wet, which damaged the tapestry and other decorations that adorned the court of the hôtel, for it was covered and hung with tapestry, of which the cardinal had very great abundance. The ambassadors, having been spectators of this entertainment, departed from Paris, on the ensuing day, to wait on the king at Amboise. They had a most gracious reception, and saw the dauphin twice, who treated them very kindly. On their quitting Tours, whither they had afterward gone, the king ordered thirty thousand crowns, stamped with the sun, to be given them to defray their expenses, besides a handsome service of plate which he presented to them. On the return of the ambassadors to Paris, they had all the articles of the peace

Among others be sent for Francis of Paule, afterwards St. Francis, and the founder of the order of Minimes in France.

For particulars relative to the treaty of Arras, sce number 369 of Proofs to Comines.

Agnes, daughter to Louis duke of Savoy, wife to Francis I. count of Dunois.

§ Mr. Pinkerton attributes to Richard duke of Glou

cester the rebellion of the duke of Albany, and his as sumption of the title of Alexander King of Scotland. Albany joins Gloucester on his march against Berwick; but the Scottish king is forced to return on account of a revolt of his nobles, who destroy his favourites.

Sco Pinkerton's History of Scotland,-for the account in the text is very erroneous.