for considering other matters that greatly affected the welfare of the realm. The most part of those summoned attended, and were there for two months, treating on the condemnation or acquittal of the duke of Alençon, cousin-german to the king, and one of the peers of France. The duke of Alençon had been imprisoned for certain treasonable acts imputed to him, and of which he was said to be guilty. There were present at this meeting the count de Dunois and de Longueville, the chancellor of France, master Pierre du Reffuge *, general of France, and many other great lords and officers. The duke of Burgundy would not appear, although he had been summoned, and was the first of the peers. He had refused to come in consequence of an article in the treaty of Arras, by which he could not be constrained to attend any meeting, but at his own free-will. The king remained at Baugency during these two months, always intending to have gone to Montargis; but fearing the epidemic distemper which raged there, and the badness of the air, he dissolved the meeting, and appointed it to assemble within fifteen days afterward at Vendôme.

On the 4th of April in this year died pope Calixtus; and Pius, a native of Italy, was elected in his room.

The 15th of August, all the king's counsellors, as well laics as ecclesiastics, of his court of parliament, who had been summoned, came to Vendôme, even the bishop of Paris and the abbot of St. Denis, who had not appeared at Montargis.

CHAPTER XCII.

THE DUKE OF ALENÇON IS CONVICTED, AND CONDEMNED TO DEATH FOR HAVING INTENDED TO DELIVER UP HIS STRONG PLACES TO THE ENGLISH, THE ANCIENT ENEMIES OF FRANCE, AND TO INTRODUCE THEM INTO NORMANDY.

"CHARLES, by the grace of God king of France, to all to whom these presents may come, health and affection. Whereas we have been duly informed that John duke of Alençon, a peer of France, has held various treasonable correspondences with our ancient enemies the English; and that for this purpose he has sent divers messengers to England without our leave or licence, and without making us acquainted with the purport of them, to the great danger and prejudice of us and our realm. To obviate the evil effects that might have arisen from such conduct, we provided a remedy, and, in consequence, commanded, under our letterspatent given at Chastelier, near Esbrimbe, the 24th day of May, in the year 1456, our dear and well-beloved cousin the count de Dunois and de Longueville, our beloved and faithful counsellors and chamberlains Pierre de Brézé, lord of Varennes, and grand seneschal of Normandy, John le Boursier, superintendant-general of our finances, William Cousinot, knight, bailiff of Rouen, and Odet d'Aidié, bailiff of Coutantin, to lay hands on and arrest our said nephew the duke of Alençon; and for the furtherance of his trial we issued our orders, dated at Mont Richart † the 23d of last May, for our court of parliament, then sitting at Paris, to adjourn to the town of Montargis, on the first day of June last, and to remain there until the whole of the judicial proceedings on this subject should have been brought to a conclusion.

“We also summoned to attend this court of justice, at Montargis, a sufficient number of presidents and counsellors of our said parliament, together with the peers and princes of our blood, the chancellor, some masters of the requests of our household, and others of our council. In consequence whereof, our said chancellor, our well-beloved and faithful counsellors, the archbishop-duke of Rheims, the bishops and dukes of Laon and Langres, the bishops and counts of Beauvais, of Châlons and Noyon, peers of France, our said presidents, masters of requests, and counsellors of our court of parliament, and the members of our council have regularly assembled in the town of Montargis, and have there taken the preparatory steps for the judgment of the said d'Alençon, by the interrogation of his accomplices and adherents, which occupied them until the 10th day of July last passed.

"These lords did not proceed further, in the expectation of our coming thither to bring the matter to a conclusion in our presence; but we delayed going to Montargis on account of the great mortality that then existed in the towns of Orleans, Sully, and other places Mont Richart, or Mont Tricard,-six leagues from Amboise.

* Reffuge. Q.

around, through which we must have passed; and not only to avoid the consequences that might have arisen from this mortality we deferred going thither, but also having heard that our enemies had fitted out a considerable fleet, with the intent of invading our kingdom on the coasts of Saintonge, Poitou, and lower Normandy. That we might be ready to oppose any such attempts, we, by the advice of our council, transferred this court of justice from Montargis to the town of Vendôme. We ordered the members of the said court to assemble at Vendôme on the 15th day of August, then and there to continue sitting until they should have brought this trial to a close. We afterward came to Vendôme in person, where were assembled many of the princes of our blood, peers of France, both laics and ecclesiastics, and those before-named, with the members of our council and court of parliament, and others for this business summoned thither. While we were seated on our judgment-seat, the court being filled with the whole of its members, the said d'Alençon was brought before it, who, after having had the oath administered to him, to declare the whole truth respecting the crimes with which he was charged, frankly and voluntarily confessed as follows.

:

"That after lord Shrewsbury had taken Bordeaux, an Englishman called James Hay, attached to sir Richard Woodville, an English knight, came to him at Alençon, under a ́passport, and made secret proposals to him of a marriage between his daughter and the son of the duke of York: that, as well in regard to this marriage as for other matters they mutually wished to be acquainted with, they held many conversations, and agreed on a certain manner of squeezing the hand and thumb, as a signal that every person was to give before he delivered any message relative to his business, to prevent their being betrayed. That about the month of August in the year 1455, he, the said duke of Alençon, sent for a priest living at Domfront, called Thomas Gillet, whom, having sworn to secrecy, he told that he intended to send him to England, and detained him some time with him for this purpose, and carried him to La Fleche in Anjou, expecting to be enabled to send him from thence that while he was at La Fleche, an English herald, called Huntingdon, came thither, to whom he opened his intentions, and charged him to return to England, and to exhort his countrymen, by every possible means, to make a descent in Normandy, desiring them, by the aid of God, or the devil, to make up their internal quarrels, and not think of anything else but this invasion: that now was the time or never; and should they allow the present most favourable opportunity to slip by, they would never again find another; for that the king was at a distance, and his army separated in three divisions,-one in Armagnac, another in Guienne, and the third employed against the dauphin: that the nobles and great towns, as well as the people of all ranks, were more discontented than could be conceived; and that he, the duke of Alençon, was himself so displeased with the present government that, if the English would support him, he would aid them to the utmost of his power,-for that he had sufficient stores and artillery to combat for a day ten thousand men. He advised that the king of England should come in person, and with not less than from thirty to forty thousand combatants: that there was in Normandy only one of the king's generals, with but four hundred lances, and that they might conquer the greater part of the country before any resistance could be made. He advised that the king of England should, on his landing, issue a proclamation, by sound of trumpet, to forbid any one, under pain of instant death, to take goods or other effects from husbandmen or labourers by force, and to leave every one at peace in their habitations. The king of England was likewise to revoke all the gifts made by his father and by himself, to grant a full pardon to every one, and to proceed as if it were a new conquest.

"In consequence of this treachery, our enemies did land in several parts of our dominions, namely, the king of England and the duke of York in Lower Normandy, the duke of Buckingham at Calais, to march through Picardy to the country of Caux, and to cut off all intercourse with us should we attempt to oppose them. Those of Guienne, according to the duke of Alençon, were much discontented; and if our enemies would support them they would rise in rebellion against us,—and, in short, we should lose all that part of our country. The enemy was to inform the duke of Alençon three months before they intended to land, that he might provide his places with stores, and prevent us from taking possession of them. On their landing, the English commander was to send the herald Huntingdon to the duke to

make him acquainted with their numbers and plans, that he might take measures to act in concert with them. The duke particularly insisted, when he sent Huntingdon to England, that king Henry should bring with him as much money as possible; and that he should deliver at Bruges, or elsewhere, twenty thousand crowns,—or at least ten thousand, at his disposal, should be there deposited without loss of time, and not longer than a month after their landing, for him to pay his men, and put his artillery on a respectable footing; for he charged the herald to say, that on their landing they would find part of his artillery at Alençon or Domfront.

"The said d'Alençon confessed that he had promised, on oath, to Huntingdon, that he would punctually perform the engagements he had entered into with the enemies of our realm: and he made this herald swear that he would tell all these things to the duke of York, Richard Woodville, and James Hay, and that he would reveal them to none others but them. That our enemies might not have any doubts of the truth of the above engagements, the said d'Alençon gave to Huntingdon, on his departure, credential letters addressed to the duke of York, signed with an N, with a stroke through it, containing as follows:— "Gentlemen, have the goodness to believe what the bearer of this shall tell you from me. I thank you for your kind intentions, and it shall not be my fault if they be not farther strengthened." In saying this, our said nephew had well remembered that he had given to Huntingdon the fullest information respecting his own affairs, as well as those of our kingdom, in order to accomplish his designs, and then had sent him to England.

:

"The said d'Alençon confessed, that some time afterwards he had also sent thither Thomas Gillet, the priest before mentioned, and had charged him to acquaint the duke of York or Richard Woodville (having previously made the signal with the thumb) with the state of our kingdom and the discontent of the people, and to press them to make the invasion as soon as they could, and with as large a force as possible,—to tell them that they were very thoughtless in not having before attempted it, for they could never have so fair an opportunity of recovering what they had lost; and if they would land twenty thousand men, they would regain the greater part of the country before we could provide any effectual resistance; for we were at a distance, in Berry, on an expedition against our son the dauphin that there were no forces in that part of the kingdom: that the people were exceedingly discontented, and that now or never was the time for reconquering Normandy. Thomas Gillet said, that the duke d'Alençon was much surprised he had not heard from them, nor from the herald; that they should send him back with intelligence of their intentions; and he told them frankly, that unless they showed more vigour and activity, the enterprise had better be dropped. He spoke to them, likewise, of the twenty thousand crowns that had been stated as necessary by the said d'Alençon to Huntingdon; and the said d'Alençon had bidden him assure the duke of York, that he was the most beloved of all his family in Normandy, and that the people of the country would do more for him than for any one else. Thomas Gillet was also charged to tell the English, on their landing, not to forget to issue the proclamations he had mentioned to Huntingdon; and if he were spoken to concerning the marriage of his daughter with the eldest son of the duke of York, to say all he knew and all he had seen of her. The said d'Alençon gave to Gillet letters of the following tenor, to deliver to the duke of York:- Sir,' &c., I commend myself to you, and entreat that you will instantly let me hear from you, and have me in your thoughts. For God's sake, use diligence in his designs,—it is time, and acquit yourself manfully, for who waits becomes displeased. Hasten to send me money, for your service has cost me

much, and may God grant all your desires.' Written as above, and at the bottom 'always

yours, N.,' adding a postscript, to say, that a little before Christmas he would send a person called Pierre Fortin to Calais, and would instruct him to make the signal of the thumb, that he might converse with James Hay or Richard Woodville, and know from them if they had any intelligence to give him from the herald or Thomas Gillet.

"The said d'Alençon also confessed, that between Christmas and the Epiphany, Thomas Gillet and the herald returned from England, and reported to him that the duke of York and the chancellor of England thanked him for his good intentions; that the parliament of England was not as yet assembled, nor the king of England in a situation to send him an

immediate and decisive answer,-but that the parliament would shortly be holden, and the matter should then be so arranged that the duke of Alençon should be satisfied, and that he should receive information thereof in the course of the ensuing Lent, by the said Woodville. Gillet added, that the duke of York commended himself to the said d'Alençon, thanked him for his good wishes, and begged of him to continue them to him,-and assured him that before the month of September next the duke, accompanied by the greatest lords of England, would invade Normandy with such a large army that the said d'Alençon should be contented; but he was required to secure some good seaport on that coast for their landing,— and they wished to know whether the dauphin would go into Normandy. A nearly similar message did Gillet deliver from the chancellor of England.

"The said d'Alençon likewise confessed that, on the return of these his messengers, he had despatched to England a person called master Edmund Gallet, having first sworn him on the Scriptures to secrecy, and then he gave him a letter addressed to the duke of York, signed with his real name 'John,' and sealed with his own signet: it was cut into four pieces, and contained as follows: 'My lords, I commend myself to you. The messages you

sent me have been delivered; and I beg to hear further from you as speedily as may be, if you propose undertaking the measures the bearer will explain to you: it is now time, and I will support you in such wise that you shall be satisfied. You may believe all that the bearer shall say to you from me.'

"The said d'Alençon owned that he had charged Gallet to bring him back an answer as to the marriage, and the other things that he had mentioned to the English lords by Gillet and the herald; to tell them that it was now full time to begin the business, if they looked for success; and that he wished they were landed in Normandy in bodies as thick as flies or hailstones. That the said d'Alençon was assured that we intended to march against our son the dauphin; and that if they landed and entered into proper engagements with him, the dauphin would join them, and give up to them his artillery and strong places, and everything else within his power: he repeated, therefore, that they must not delay nor fail to -and the twenty thousand crowns must be instantly paid.

come,

or not.

"The said d'Alençon said, that being astonished that Gallet was not returned from England, he sent about Easter the said Fortin to Calais, and charged him, after making the usual signs, to talk with the English, and learn whether they intended invading Normandy He added, that Gallet came back from England about Low Sunday, and brought letters signed, as he said, by the king himself, namely Henry, and that these letters contained in effect as follows: Very dear cousin, we thank you for your good-will toward us: we shall send commissioners on the first day of next August to Bruges, to propose a truce between us and our fair cousin of Burgundy, where we shall hope that they may meet commissioners from you, to settle everything between us, and we shall act in such wise as, please God, you may be satisfied.'

"The said d'Alençon said, that Gallet had informed him the king of England had taken the government into his own hands, and that the duke of York had retired into Wales, which had caused the said Gallet to address himself to the king in person, telling him of the good inclinations of the duke of Alençon, for which he thanked him, and said, that he should send ambassadors to Bruges, as he had stated in the said letters, and that the duke d'Alençon should send others from him to meet them; that these ambassadors would settle everything relative to the twenty thousand crowns, and they would mutually exchange written documents respecting the matters under consideration.

"The said d'Alençon confessed, that because the term for the payment of the said twenty thousand crowns was remote, and because he wished to be made acquainted with the state of preparation of our enemies, he again sent Gallet into England to press the advance of the money, and to obtain a blank passport for any one of his people whom he might wish to send thither touching these several matters, should there be any necessity for it; that he told the said Gallet, as the chance of war was uncertain, he wished to secure a retreat in England should their plans prove abortive, and mentioned the duchies of Bedford, of Gloucester, and of the lands which the dukes of the said duchies held for life, that he might speak of them to the king of England. That, on the departure of Gallet, the said d'Alençon gave

him letters, addressed to the duke of York, containing as follows: My lord, I commend myself to you, and am very much surprised that I did not receive any intelligence from you by the bearer of this on his return from England. I entreat that I may speedily hear from you, and you may safely believe whatever he shall tell you from me.' He wrote also other letters to master Louis Gallet, residing in England, father to this Edmund Gallet, thanking him for his good inclinations toward him, of which he had been informed by his son, to whom he desired that he would always address himself on this business.

“The said d'Alençon added, that as he and master Edmund were conversing on this subject, master Edmund told him that it was the intention of the English to send the duke of Glocuester and the son of lord Shrewsbury, to make a landing in Guienne, with ten or twelve thousand men,—while the king, the duke of York, and a large body of nobles, should invade our province of Normandy: that the duke of Buckingham, with the earls of Wiltshire and Worcester, should land at Calais, with ten or twelve thousand combatants, and march through Picardy. He likewise confessed that he had spoken on this subject to Fortin, one of the gentlemen of his chamber, to induce him to join him in his plans to support the English, and that he had sent him to Granville *, to examine the state of that place, if it were well fortified, and what repairs had lately been made there, especially on the side where it had been formerly taken; and if that Fortin joined the English, as it appears he did, he was to find out some means of delivering up Granville, and as many other places as possible to them.

"The said d'Alençon confessed, that he had been induced by his different messages to excite the English to invade our kingdom by the advice and instigation of a person called Matthew Prestre, whom he knew not otherwise than by name, but who said he was from the country of the Lionnois and attached to the bastard d'Armagnac, and who (as the said d'Alençon said) had brought him credential letters from our son the dauphin, and from the bastard d'Armagnac. Of the letters from the dauphin, the said d'Alençon said, that he had his suspicions of their reality from their not being in the usual style in which the dauphin was accustomed to write to him he also suspected the signature was not the dauphin's. On this matter, and at the request of the said d'Alençon, several witnesses specified by him, and of his household, have been examined by our commissioners, who have affirmed that they saw the said Matthew Prestre.

:

"The said Edmund Gallet has also been examined, to whom the said d'Alençon had declared that he had made most ample communications respecting the said Matthew Prestre ; and the said Gallet has been confronted with the said d'Alençon, and interrogated respecting the different messages he had carried to England, as well as others of his accomplices, who, it may be supposed, would know if the statement touching this Matthew Prestre were true, who have all denied any knowledge thereof, so that it may be presumed, from their depositions, that the contrary to what the said d'Alençon had said was the fact; besides, the said d'Alençon declares that he never had any letters from our said son, nor any communication from him on these matters, but through the said Matthew, and that he knew not whether he communicated the above from himself or from others; and that he, the said d'Alençon, had never any instructions from our said son on this subject.

"Several remonstrances having been made to the said d'Alençon on this part of his conduct, it has appeared that the whole was a contrivance to cover his treasonable practices, and to give a colour to them; for the said d'Alençon said that he knew not what reply to make to these remonstrances. As a further confirmation, when the said d'Alençon has been interrogated as to this Matthew, he has varied in his answers on many points, as may be clearly seen in the evidence of his trial. From all of which, and from the whole of what has been advanced by the said d'Alençon, as well as from the interrogatories of the different witnesses respecting Matthew Prestre and his interference, and from other evidence examined at the request of the said d'Alençon, we have not found anything wherewith we could accuse our said son the dauphin, nor the bastard d'Armagnac, as any way implicated in the treasons of the said d'Alençon.

* Granville, a sea-port in Normandy, six leagues from Coutances.