Guines and Flanders, where they took seventeen towns or strong-holds, burning and destroying the country, and carrying off cattle, sheep, horses, and everything portable, to their different garrisons. At this time, Coulon and other adventurers at sea from the coasts of Normandy captured four-score Flemish vessels, which were on their voyage to fetch rye from Prussia, to victual their country, and the produce of the herring-fishery for that year. It was the greatest loss that had befallen the Flemings at sea for upwards of a hundred years, and they suffered much from it. CHAPTER CLXXX.-AN EMBASSY ARRIVES FROM THE KING OF ENGLAND TO THE KING OF [A. D. 1480.] AT the commencement of this year, the lord Howard, a prothonotary, and other ambassadors from England, crossed the Channel to wait on the king of France respecting the maintaining of the truce. They were handsomely received, and magnificently feasted by the king, who, on their return, made them rich presents in money and in silver plate. In this year, the king issued a commission to master John Avais, counsellor in his court of parliament, and to John Doyac, of the town of Cusset*, in Auvergne, to examine into different charges that had been made against the duke of Bourbon, his towns, officers, and subjects. These two men accepted their commission with pleasure, in the hope of destroying the duke of Bourbon, against all truth and justice, but in order to gain the good graces of the king, and to force the duke into banishment. In obedience to the commission, they summoned all the principal officers of the duke, such as his chancellor, his attorney-general, the captain of his guard, and others, to appear personally before the court of parliament on an appointed day, when they were severally interrogated by commissaries, and detained long in Paris. Master Francis Hasle, the king's advocate, pleaded against them, and wanted stronger measures to be pursued, but they were all set at liberty by the court, and returned to their homes. Master John Hebert, bishop of Constance, was next summoned to appear before the parliament, to answer to certain crimes of which he was accused. On his appearance, he was examined, and, by orders of the court, was committed as a prisoner to the prisons of the Conciergerie,-and all his temporal effects were confiscated to the king's use. In the month of August, a truce was concluded with the duke of Austria for seven months: during three of them a free intercourse was to be allowed for merchants and merchandise to pass and repass from each country,-three others were to be void of all warfare,—and the seventh for consideration as to war or peace. Monday the 4th of September, the cardinal of St. Pietro ad Vincula†, legate from the pope, arrived at Paris, and was most honourably received there by all ranks of people, who went out to meet him by the gate of St. Jacques. All the streets through which he passed to the church of Notre-Dame, where he made his devotions, were hung with tapestry. When these were finished, he proceeded to the lodgings that had been prepared for him at the college of St. Denis near the Augustins, accompanied by the cardinal of Bourbon. On the Tuesday master Olivier le Diable, called le Daim, the king's barber, feasted the legate, the cardinal of Bourbon, and many other prelates and nobles, as grandly as possible. When dinner was over, he carried them to the park of Vincennes, to amuse themselves in hunting deer; after which they returned to their different homes. On Thursday and Friday, the vigil and feast of the Nativity of the blessed Virgin, the legate attended vespers in the church of Notre-Dame; and great crowds were there to see On Sunday the ceremonies observed on the occasion, which were solemn and magnificent. the legate dined and supped with the cardinal of Bourbon at his hotel. There were present at these entertainments many archbishops, bishops, and nobles of high rank; such as the archbishops of Besançon and Sens, the bishops of Chartres, Nevers, Therouenne, Amiens, Aleth*, and others; the lord de Curton, Moireau, master of the household to the king, and many more. Monday the 14th, the legate went to St. Denis, where he was feasted by the abbot, and thence into Picardy and Flanders, to attempt bringing about a peace between the king and the duke of Austria. He staid some time at Peronne, thinking he should have an easy access into Flanders, whither the king sent master Francis Hasle, the provost of Paris, and others, who returned without having done anything. The legate came back to Paris on the 21st of December, and went to the hôtel of Bourbon, where he was entertained by the cardinal at supper, and lay there that night. On the morrow he left the hôtel of Bourbon by the Golden-gate, and crossed the river to the hôtel of Nesle, where he mounted his horse, which was waiting for him, and proceeded, with his attendants, to Orleans, and there remained until the king had set at liberty the cardinal Balue, who came to the legate at Orleans. The king had remained almost the whole of the winter in Touraine. About the Epiphany he went to Poitiers, and other places, and returned to Tours, and to Forgest, the end of January. It was about this time that the king reduced the whole body of franc-archers in France, and substituted, in their place, the Swiss with their pikes; and he caused a prodigious quantity of pikes, halberds, and large daggers, to be made, by all the cutlers in his kingdom. - The winter, this year, began late: there was no frost until St. Stephen's day, and it lasted only until the 8th of February. But, if it began late, it was most severe; for the oldest persons did not remember the frost so sharp: the rivers Seine, Yonne, Marne, and all that fall into the Seine, were so hard frozen that all kinds of carriages passed over as on dry land. Great mischiefs were done to several bridges by the thaw: some were quite ruined, and carried away on the before-named rivers, and large pieces of ice drove many boats against the bridges of Notre-Dame and Saint Michel at Paris. They, however, for some hours, formed a rampart, and perhaps saved these bridges; but the danger was thought so great that all who lived upon them carried away everything of value out of their houses. The ice broke seven of the large piles at the Temple-mill. During this hard weather, no floats of wood came down the river,—which raised the price excessively, insomuch that the billet cost seven or eight sols parisis. To relieve the poorer sorts, the country people of the neighbouring villages daily brought green wood in carts or on horses' backs to Paris. The wood would have been dearer if the astrologers had told truth, for they predicted that this frost would last until the 8th of March: the thaw, however, began three weeks sooner than they had foretold, but the weather continued extremely cold until May was far advanced, which destroyed all the buds of the early vines, and the fruit-blossoms were cut off. In the course of the winter, and even during the month of April, when the truce with the Flemings expired, no hostilities took place; for the duke of Austria had sent an embassy to the king, at Tours, and a prolongation of the truce was agreed on for one year, in the expectation that in the interval means might be found for a general peace. Another embassy came likewise from England respecting the truce; and the king took the trouble of going as far as Château Regnault §, to meet the ambassadors and hear their business. This being settled, they returned to king Edward,—and on their departure, it was publicly said, that the truce between France and England had been renewed for a very long time. In the month of March, the king was suddenly taken ill while at Plessis-le-Parc, near Tours, and was for some time in very great danger; but, by the grace of God, his health was restored, and he was soon perfectly recovered. Aleth, a small city in upper Languedoc. + Forges.-There are several towns of this name, one in Aunis, near la Rochelle, which I should suppose to be the one in the text; another in Normandy, famous for its mineral waters. Château Regnault,—a town in Touraine, near Tours. 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. + St. Claude, in Franche Comté, six leagues from Genova. 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 hunting. 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 sou 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 Countries. She died in 1532. GG 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 him; 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 Cohem in Comines. Third son of John the First, count of Aremberg, and brother of Robert de la Marck, first duke of Bouillon. He married Jane of Arschot, baroness of Schonhouen, by whom he had John, baron of Lumain, who died 1526. |