designs of her husband against her uncle; and instantly quitting the place she was in with her son, attended by her servants, she hastened to the duke, then besieging Deventer, and told him of the plots against him. This caused the duke to lose no time in closing with the offers of those in Deventer, so that the treaty was immediately concluded, and hostages were given for its performance. The duke raised the siege the 27th day of September, and returned to Utrecht, and thence to the Hague, where he disbanded his army, leaving his son David in peaceable possession of the bishopric of Utrecht.

He was under great obligations to his niece for the information she had given him; for if he had remained two days longer at the siege, he would have been attacked by the duke of Gueldres and the Frizelanders before he knew anything of their intentions, and it would probably have been unfortunate to him by reason of his being totally unprepared to receive them. The duke of Gueldres* was much reproached for this conduct, considering that he had married the duke of Burgundy's niece, and that the good duke had sent their daughter to marry the king of Scotland at his own expense, and had done many and very great kindnesses to the duke of Gueldres.

CHAPTER LXXVII.—THE DUKE OF ALENÇON IS ARRESTED AND THROWN INTO PRISON.— THE TURKS ARE MIRACULOUSLY DEFEATED IN HUNGARY. -- - OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED IN THIS YEAR OF MCCCCLVI.

Soon after the feast of Pentecost, the duke of Alençon was arrested in Paris, by orders from the king and the count de Dunois, bastard of Orleans, and sent to Melun. From Melun he was carried before the king, and convicted, as it was said, of having intrigued with the English to accomplish a marriage between his eldest son and the eldest daughter of the duke of York, unknown to the king; and of having engaged to deliver up to the English his strong places, to the prejudice of the king, and particularly the duchy of Normandy. Having confessed his guilt, he was closely confined until after the death of king Charles. When he was arrested, it was currently reported that the duke of Burgundy was implicated in these intrigues of the duke of Alençon with the English; which so much displeased the king that he had it proclaimed throughout the realm, that no one, under pain of death, should make such charges against his good brother of Burgundy, nor any way speak disrespectfully of his honour.

In the month of June in this year, a comet with a prodigious tail appeared in the west, having its tail pointed toward England: it continued visible for three months. The new wines of this season were so sour that the old ones were in greater request for their superior goodness and flavour. In this year also, the great emperor of the Turks, called Morbesant, besieged the strong town and castle of Belgrade, situated on the confines of Hungary. He was upwards of four months and a half before it, which vexed him so much that he swore, in the presence of his army, to win it by force or perish in the attempt. There were some in the Turkish army who gave information of this to those in the town, that they might be prepared; and Ovidianus, one of the noblest and most powerful princes of Hungary, hearing also of this intention, instantly assembled nine hundred cavalry and forty thousand infantry of all sorts, and entered the town by the Danube, without the Turk knowing

*Arnold of Egmont duke of Gueldres, was married to Catherine daughter of Adolphus duke of Cleves, by Mary a sister of the duke of Burgundy. In the note to chap. lxxiii. a sufficient reason will be found for his hostility, of which, however, Heuterus takes no notice, saying only that the matters in dispute with the Deventrians and Frieslanders were settled through the intervention of the duke of Cleves.

+ Morbesan. Mohammed II. surnamed the Victorious. Ovidianus. John Corvin supposes this to be Hunniades. If so, then le Chevalier Blanc could not mean Hunniades, since he is already disposed of in page 240. The truth is, that nothing can exceed the confusion and misrepre

sentations with which Monstrelet's accounts from these distant countries abound; and it is labour lost to attempt at finding a meaning where there probably never was any. Capistran, who is mentioned in the next page, died also immediately or very soon after his friend Hunniades. I rather suspect that this is a mere repetition of the preceding account, as the reader will find the relation of the embassy in chapter lxxx. repeated again in chapter lxxxii. Probably towards the conclusion of his history, Monstrelet set down events without order or method, as he heard them in conversation or otherwise, and did not live to arrange his unconnected notes.

anything thereof, for he had only besieged the place on the land side, and had neglected to post any guards on that great river the Danube.

Ovidianus entered the town on the eve of Magdalen-day, which was the day fixed on by the Turk to storm the place; and so eager was he to fulfil his vow that he ordered one-third of his army to commence the attack at midnight, which was done with much courage,—but the besieged made so gallant a defence that they were repulsed. The attack lasted until eight o'clock in the morning, when another division, equal in numbers to the first, advanced to renew the combat, but they also were forced to retreat. The emperor of the Turks now advanced in person, accompanied by the boldest of his captains, and continued the combat with such obstinacy and courage, that from its commencement, at four in the afternoon, it lasted until the middle of the following day, which made twenty hours in the whole : a terrible fatigue to those in the town thus to support three renewed attacks without any respite or repose. They were at length so worn down that they could no longer help each other, and the Turks were beginning to enter the town in large bodies.

Among the Christians in this town was a very devout cordelier friar, called John Capistran, who, seeing the Turks enter the breach, seized a crucifix, and, ascending the highest part of the castle, cried aloud, "O Deus meus, Deus meus! O altissime Pater! veni in adjutorium, veni et libera populum quem redemisti pretioso sanguine tuo. Veni noli tardare. Deus meus ubi sunt misericordiæ tuæ antiquæ, veni ne Turci et increduli dicant ubi est Deus eorum." The cordelier, in uttering these words, wept bitterly; and when the Christians heard them, they felt quite refreshed, and as if they were new men, without feeling any fatigue, and instantly fell on the Turks who were entering the town with such courage that they slew all they met, and put the rest to flight. They pursued them upwards of eight leagues, killing or wounding all they overtook, so that more than one hundred thousand were slain in the whole. They gained all the artillery of the Turks, and such quantities of riches, in tents, money, and effects, as it would seem marvellous to relate. Among other things won were eleven large bombards, six of which were of prodigious length and of a great bore, and more than two hundred smaller bombards and cannons. When news of this important victory was carried to the pope then reigning, he ordered processions and thanksgivings to be made in all the churches of Christendom, to render thanks to God for this great victory,—and, among other things, to ring the Ave Maria between two and three o'clock on the anniversary of the day this miracle happened, as it is usual to ring it every evening in all churches; and this manner of ringing it after dinner is continued in several churches in France.

CHAPTER LXXVIII.-THE

DAUPHIN OF FRANCE TAKES REFUGE WITH DUKE PHILIP OF BURGUNDY.-OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED IN THIS YEAR.

LOUIS DE VALOIS, eldest son to the king of France, and dauphin of Vienne, had resided for ten or twelve years in Dauphiny, because the king was displeased with him. Some said, this was owing to his ill-treatment of his subjects in Dauphiny, more particularly the bishops and churchmen, whose revenues he seized against their wills, for the support of his state others, however, excused him for so doing, because his father had stopped the allowance he had formerly given him. It was also reported that the king's anger arose from the death of the fair Agnes being caused by poison, of which the dauphin was suspected, as he had frequently blamed and murmured against his father for his attachment to her. In truth, Agnes Sorel was the handsomest woman of her age, and in more favour with the king than the queen the great lords also paid more court to her than to the queen, who was a very good and honourable lady, which had vexed the dauphin much, and he had hastened her death. However, after the decease of the fair Agnes, the damsel de Villequier, her niece, succeeded her in the affections of the king, who, in his latter days, would have about him the finest and handsomest women of his realm.

Whatever may have been the real cause of the quarrel between the king and the dauphin, the king ordered sir Anthony de Chabannes, count de Dammartin, to proceed into Dauphiny

with a sufficient body of men-at-arms to arrest the dauphin and bring him to his presence by force or otherwise; but the dauphin fortunately escaped; for it was then commonly believed that, had he been arrested, the king would have treated him very harshly, and would have made king his younger son Charles. The dauphin having had intimation of the orders to arrest him, gave public notice for a hunting-party on the morrow, and ordered his dinner to be prepared at the place of rendezvous. Intelligence of this was carried to the count de Dammartin, who posted ambushes to seize the dauphin the moment he should arrive at the place; but, as he suspected their machinations, early on the morrow, when it was thought he was gone to the hunt, he with six of his most confidential attendants, mounted their fleetest horses, and set off, as fast as they could travel, for Burgundy, and never stopped until they arrived at St. Claude, a town in Burgundy. It was well for them that they made this haste, or they would have been overtaken by the count de Dammartin, who followed very closely at their heels.

Shortly after the dauphin's arrival at St. Claude, he went to the prince of Orange at Nasere*, who received him most honourably; and on hearing him declare that he feared he should be pursued, and that he was desirous of going to the duke of Burgundy, the prince sent off in haste for the marshal of Burgundy, who came to him with a handsome escort of men-at-arms, and they instantly departed for Brabant. This conduct was truly extraordinary; for the prince of Orange and the duke of Burgundy were the two men in the world whom the dauphin hated the most, for having several times repulsed, with loss, his own and the king's men, whenever they made any excursions on the duke's territories, which he was determined to preserve from inroads; but necessity, which owns no law, forced him to seek an asylum among those he hated, and to make use of them in his time of need.

The marshal of Burgundy conducted him with such prudence through the territories of the duke of Burgundy that he arrived safely at Louvain, whence he went to Brussels, and thence he sent one of his attendants with information to the duke, at that time in Holland, of his arrival. The good duke, anxious to receive and entertain him as the eldest son of his sovereign lord, hastened as much as possible the treaty of Deventer, that he might return to Brabant. Immediately on his arrival at Brussels, he went to the dauphin and paid him every respect in honour to the king, and to himself personally; and no prince knew better how to do these honours. He instantly assigned him three thousand francs monthly to maintain his estate, and begged of him to make choice of what place he should please for his residence, and he would give orders for its being immediately delivered up to him †. The dauphin asked for Geneppe ‡, a castle in Brabant, pleasantly situated, and a handsome residence, where he lived for a long time.

In the course of this year, sir Thibault de Luxembourg, lord of Fiennes, brother to the count of St. Pol §, and widower of the daughter of the lord of Antoing, by whom he had several children, became a monk of the order of Cistercians, notwithstanding that in his youth he had been a very free liver. Toward the end of October, soon after the arrival of the dauphin in Brabant, the duke of Burgundy sent a handsome embassy to the king of France, the chief of which was the lord de Chimay high bailiff of Hainault, to satisfy him

Nasere. Q. Nazey? a village near Besançon.

The motive assigned by Heuterus for this extraordinary display of friendship in the duke towards the dauphin, is the hope "that this young prince, bound by the immensity of the obligation, would, on his accession to the throne, be the firm friend of his son Charles, and of the Belgian states. But," adds the historian, "it is in vain that benefits are heaped on men of a depraved disposition, as king Charles himself prophesied in the following words: 'You know not, duke Philip, the nature of this savage animal. You cherish a wolf who will one day tear your sheep to pieces. Remember the fable of the countryman, who, in compassion to a viper which he found half frozen in the fields, brought it to his house, and warmed it by his fire-side, till it turned round and hissed at its preserver.'"

Geneppe, on the Dyle, six leagues from Brussels. Louis XI. resided here, when dauphin, with the dauphiness, upwards of five years.

§ Thibaut de Luxembourg, lord of Fiennes, younger son of Peter I. count of Brienne and St. Paul, married Philippa of Melun, daughter of John lord of Antoing, by whom he had issue James lord of Fiennes, and count of Gaure, &c. Philip, cardinal, and bishop of Mans, Francis viscount of Martigues, and several daughters. It may be doubtful from what motive he embraced the ecclesiastical profession, since a life of poverty was certainly not included in his intention. He was made bishop of Mans and abbot of Igni and Orcan, and was prevented by death from wearing the cardinal's hat, which was designed for him by pope Sixtus IV. 1st September, 1477.

as to his son's coming to his territories, and to say that he would show him every possible honour in his power. The ambassadors waited long for an audience; and while they were thus delayed, the king of France sent a body of men-at-arms to Compiègne and Soissons, two towns on the frontiers of the duke of Burgundy's possessions. The duke, hearing of this, suspected that the king intended to make war on him, as indeed did many others, and issued a summons throughout Picardy, Flanders, and Hainault, for all men capable of bearing arms to be ready in his defence in case the king should attack him.

About Christmas in this year, Charles duke of Bourbon departed this life, and was succeeded by his eldest son, who, by his mother, was nephew to the duke of Burgundy *.

CHAPTER LXXIX.-A QUARREL TAKES PLACE BETWEEN DUKE PHILIP OF BURGUNDY AND HIS SON THE COUNT OF CHAROLOIS, BUT IS APPEASED BY THE DAUPHIN.—THE COUNTESS OF CHAROLOIS IS BROUGHT TO BED OF A DAUGHTER. OTHER EVENTS THAT HAPPENED IN DIVERS PARTS.

On the 17th of January of this same year, while the duke of Burgundy resided at Brussels, a dispute arose between the lord de Quievraint and the lord d'Aymeries, both chamberlains to the count de Charolois, each of whom, during the absence of the lord d'Auxy his first chamberlain, would take the precedency of the other. The count was desirous that the lord d'Aymeries should have the preference, which coming to the knowledge of the duke, he sent for his son, and commanded him to prefer the lord de Quievrain. The count replied, that he would do no such thing, and that the house of Croy should not govern him, as he had suffered them to do in regard to himself. The duke was so exceedingly irritated at this answer of his son that he would have struck him, and commanded him to quit his territories instantly. The count therefore departed, much angered and grieved. When night came, the duke, equally troubled, called for a horse, and having mounted it, rode alone into the fields, although it was then raining very hard. He soon after entered a forest, and lost his road, so that he knew not whither to direct his horse; luckily he came to the house of a poor man, who received him, and he lay there that night. On the morrow, at the earliest dawn, he made his host conduct him straight to Geneppe, and on his departure gave him eight florins of the Rhine.

The attendants of the duke sought him during the night, so that on the morrow he was grandly accompanied, and thus returned to Brussels. He shortly after pardoned his son at the request and entreaties of the principal lords of his household, and especially at the entreaties of the dauphin; but he banished from his territories two of the count's attendants, because he suspected them of having advised his son to act in the manner he had done, respecting the two chamberlains.

It happened that, not long after, as the dauphin and the count de Charolois were hunting in a forest, toward evening they separated, and the dauphin, with only two attendants, lost his way in the thickest part of the forest. The count, imagining that he was returned to Brussels, came home without him. The duke seeing him return without the dauphin, was much angered, and ordered him to remount, and sent him, with many others, with torches and lights, charging them withal to seek diligently and find him. They made such haste that they met him full eight leagues from Brussels under the guidance of a peasant, to whom he had given a golden crown: by this means they had so soon found him, and were much rejoiced thereat; as was the duke, when he saw him arrive in safety §.

*Charles duke of Bourbon, by his marriage with Agnes of Burgundy, daughter of John the Fearless, had a numerous issue, of whom the eldest succeeded to his duchy by the title of John the Second, and was surnamed the Good. Of the other children, Charles was archbishop of Clermont; Lewis bishop of Liege; Peter was duke of Bourbon after the death of his brother, John II. His five daughters were married respectively to the dukes of Calabria, Burgundy, Gueldres, Savoy, and the prince of Orange.

Philip de Croy, lord of Quiévrain, eldest son of John count of Chimay.

Anthony de Rollin, lord of Aymeries. A particular account of this dispute is given by Heuterus, by which it appears that Monstrelet's statement is very correct.

§ In chapter cii., the very same accident which is here made to befal the dauphin, is also recorded to have happened to the count de Charolois, when hunting with Louis after his accession to the throne. Qy. Has not Monstrelet made the two stories out of one ?

On the 13th of February in this year, the countess of Charolois was brought to bed of a daughter, in the town of Brussels. At her christening, the dauphin, the duchess of Burgundy, and the lady of Ravestein, were sponsors. The dauphin named her Mary, in honour of the queen his mother, who bore that name. Great feasts took place on this occasion throughout the duke's territories,—and in the great towns there were illuminations, and thanksgivings were offered up to God. A short time after this event, the duke of Burgundy sent again the same embassy, namely the lord de Chimay and sir Simon de Lalain, to assure the king of France that the dauphin had come to him of his own accord, and to find means of satisfying the king on this subject.

About this time died the patriarch of Antioch, brother to the chancellor of France, Juvenal des Ursins, to the archbishop of Rheims, and to another knight-at-arms, who were four brothers much in the good graces of the king of France.

CHAPTER LXXX.—AN EMBASSY FROM THE KING OF HUNGARY ARRIVES AT TOURS, AND IS HONOURABLY RECEIVED BY THE KING OF FRANCE.-THE KING OF HUNGARY DIES.THE FRENCH TAKE THE SEAPORT OF SANDWICH BY STORM.

[A. D. 1457.]

In the year 1457, the king of France, anxious to attack his enemies, more particularly the Saracens and other unbelievers in the Catholic faith, made an alliance with the potent king of Hungary, who was sovereign of three kingdoms, namely, Hungary, Poland, and Bohemia. In consequence of this alliance, the king of Hungary was to espouse the princess Magdalen, the king of France's daughter; and very many great barons, knights, and lords of the three kingdoms were sent as ambassadors to France to be present at the betrothing: even churchmen were of this embassy, such as the archbishop of Cologne and the bishop of Passau; to the amount, in all, of six hundred horse*. When they arrived at Tours in their various dresses, the king was at Montils-les-Tours, a place had by; but the queen and princess were in Tours. The ambassadors presented to the queen a rich robe of cloth of gold, embroidered with pearls and jewels, and another, equally sumptuous, to the princess, together with a splendid waggon hung on springst. Many of the principal lords of the king's household went about a league from Tours to meet them.

They were handsomely received by the king and his court, and great entertainments were made for them, especially by the count de Foix, who gave a grand feast on Thursday before Christmas, in the abbey of St. Julian at Tours, where all the princes and lords of the court were present. The tables were served, in the utmost abundance, with all sorts of delicacies, such as pheasants, patridges, bustards, cranes, wild geese, rabbits without number, fat capons, six score quarts of hypocras, as well white as red, removes; morrice dances of children dressed as savages issuing from a rock, singers, trumpets, clarions, and various devices; insomuch that this dinner cost eighteen hundred crowns, besides the rich presents to the guests. These feasts were continued to the ambassadors waiting for the betrothing of the princess to the king of Hungary, by procuration, soon after Christmas. But it has been truly said, that often man proposes, and God disposes; for on the morrow of Christmas-day, the melancholy news of the king of Hungary's death was brought to the king of France, which caused great sorrow to him and his whole court.

* Ant. Bonfinius, in his Decades, says nothing of the archbishop of Cologne, but mentions, as at the head of this embassy, the bishop of Passau. "Udalricus Pataviensium Pontifex, opibus, auctoritate, moribus, et doctrinâ præcellens." He says that it was by far the most magnificent embassy remembered in his time, and that out of Hungary, Bohemia, and Austria, and the bishopric of Passau, there were chosen seven hundred noblemen to attend it, such as "qui formâ, habitu, nobilitate, apparatuque pollerent, et quisque regno dignus videretur." The greatest expectations were entertained on the subject of this projected alliance, and the preparations made for celebrating it at the imperial court exceeded everything of the

kind before known. In the midst of these preparations Ladislaus, then only twenty-two years of age, and a young man of the most promising character and attainments, was taken suddenly ill while presiding at an assembly of the states, with symptoms, as it is stated, of the plague, according to others, of poison; and he lived but thirty-six hours after. Dying without issue, George Podiebrad was elected by the states of Bohemia, and the great Matthias Corvinus by those of Hungary, to succeed him in his respective dominions.

I have said "a waggon hung on springs," as it is in the original chariot branlant.