ページの画像
PDF
ePub
[graphic]

drove forcibly into the town, notwithstanding the severe skirmishes that took place, when many were killed and wounded on both sides.

About this time, the earl of Somerset* had collected a body of six thousand combatants, or thereabout, and marched them into the province of Anjou, committing great waste with fire and sword; after which, he advanced toward Brittany, and took by storm La Guerche,† belonging to the duke of Alençon, which town was plundered by the English. He thence advanced to Ponsayt, where he remained upwards of two months, but detached parties of men, who overran the countries of Anjou, Touraine, and near to Chartres, where at times they were attacked and defeated by peasants.

The marshal de Lohéac had the defence of this part of the kingdom intrusted to him by king Charles, and to oppose the English with the men of the duke of Alençon. They formed a plan to attack the English camp by night; but the earl of Somerset, having had intelligence thereof, advanced to meet them, and fell on them unawares. The French were thrown into confusion, and from twenty to thirty were killed or taken: the rest saved themselves by flight as well as they could. Among the prisoners were, the lord d'Assigny, Louis de Beuil, and many other gentlemen. The earl of Somerset now dislodged from before Pouencé and took the castle of Beaumont le Vicomte §. Having posted garrisons along the frontier, he returned to Rouen.

CHAPTER CCLXIX.-SOME KNIGHTS AND GENTLEMEN OF THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY'S COURT HOLD A TOURNAMENT NEAR TO DIJON.

DURING the duke of Burgundy's residence in that duchy, several gentlemen of his household, with his permission, and for his amusement, had it proclaimed throughout Burgundy, and in other countries, that if there were any men of name desirous of gaining honour and renown by deeds of arms, there were gentlemen, whose names shall be presently declared, who offered to receive and furnish them with arms suitable for the enterprise. The challenges shall likewise be mentioned that were dispersed through divers countries for this purpose, by sir Pierre de Bauffremont lord of Chargny, who was the chief of the enterprise.

CHAPTER CCLXX.- THE CHALLENGES FOR THIS TOURNAMENT AND THE NAMES OF THE CHAMPIONS.

"In honour of our Lord, and of his most glorious mother, of my lady Sainte Anne, and of my lord St. George, I, Pierre de Bauffremont lord of Chargny, of Monliet and of Montfort, knight, counsellor and chamberlain, to the most high, most puissant and excellent prince the duke of Burgundy, make known to all princes, barons, knights and esquires, without reproach, with the exception of those of the kingdom of France and of the countries in alliance, or subjects to my said sovereign lord, that for the augmentation and extension of the most noble profession and exercise of arms, my will and intention is, in conjunction with twelve knights, esquires and gentlemen, of four quarterings, whose names follow,-Thibault lord of Rougemont and Mussy, sir William de Bresremont lord of Sees and of Sonnegnon, William de Brene lord of Mombis and of Gilly, John lord of Valengon, John lord of Rap and of Tirecourt, William de Champdivers lord of Chevigny, John de Chiron lord Rancheineres, Antony de Vaudray, lord of Aille, William de Vaudray lord of Collaon, James de Challant lord of Ainville, sir Amey lord of Espirey, and John de Chavigny,-to guard and defend a pass d'armes, situated on the great road leading from Dijon toward Exonne, at the end of the

John earl of Somerset succeeded to the earldom of
Somerset in 1443: he was created duke of Somerset and
earl of Kendal, &c. in the 21st year of Henry VI. Dying
without male issue, he was succeeded by his brother
Edmund, earl of Mortain, in Normandy, and marquis of
Dorset. He was slain at the battle of St. Albans.
See Collins' Peerage, Scudamore Beaufort,-and also
VOL. II.

sir William Paston's letters, wherein are many curious
particulars relating to him. Sir William married into that
family.

+ La Guerche, a town in Brittany, near Vitré.
Ponsay, Pouencé.-DU CANGE.

§ Beaumont-le-Vicomte, - a town in Maine, near Fresnay.

K

causeway from the said town of Dijon, at a great tree called the Hermit's Tree, in the form and manner following.

“In the first place, two shields (one black besprinkled with tears of gold,—the other violet, having tears of sable), shall be suspended on the tree of the Hermit, and all those who shall, by a king at arms or pursuivant, touch the first shield, shall be bounden to perform twelve courses on horseback with me, or with one of my aforesaid knights or esquires, with blunted lances.-Item, if either of the champions, during their twelve courses, be unhorsed by a direct blow with the lance on his armour, such person, thus unhorsed, shall present to his adversary a diamond of whatever value he please.—Item, the champions may arm themselves according to their pleasure, double or single, but without any wicked intentions, having their rest similar to the usual custom in war.-Item, each person shall make provision of lances, but the rondelle, which lies on the hands, shall be only four fingers broad, and no more *.-Item, the lances shall be all of similar length, from the point to the rest.-Item, for the accomplishment of these feats of arms on horseback, I will supply all who may come without lances, precisely like to my own and to those of my companions.— Item, these deeds of arms on horseback shall be performed à la toillet, which shall be six feet high."

CHAPTER CCLXXI.-HERE FOLLOW THE ARTICLES FOR THE DEEDS OF ARMS ON FOOT.

"THOSE princes, barons, knights, and esquires, of the rank before-mentioned, who shall rather take their pleasure in performing feats of arms on foot, shall touch the violet shield, and shall perform fifteen courses with battles-axes or swords, as may be most agreeable to them. “Item, if, during these courses, any champion shall touch the ground with his hand or knees, he shall be bounden to present his adversary with a ruby of whatever value he please. Item, each champion shall be armed with the accustomed armour for combating in lists.—Item, should any person be unprovided with battle-axe or sword, I will furnish him with the same, similar to my own or to those of my companions. These axes and swords are not to have anything extraordinary in their make,but such as are usual in these kind of combats. "Item, he that shall have engaged himself to fight with me, or either of us, and shall throw the other to the ground, the person so thrown shall be obliged to surrender himself a prisoner whithersoever the conqueror shall order him.-Item, the person thus made prisoner shall pay for his immediate ransom, to whomsoever the conqueror shall direct, any sum above five hundred crowns.

"Item, foreigners need not seek for particulars from me, or from my companions, for they will find persons ready to deliver such at the usual hours and places.-Item, no stranger will be permitted to enter the lists with me or with any one of my companions, for more than one course at arms, namely, once on horseback and once on foot,-and no one can require more of any of us during the present undertaking.

"Item, the aforesaid feats of arms, on horseback and on foot, shall be performed on the following days: those on horseback on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays,-those on foot, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.-Item, this pass d'armes shall commence on the first day of July, in the year 1443, and shall last forty days, exclusive of feast-days and Sundays, and the feasts commanded to be kept by the court of Rome.

[ocr errors]

Item, no prince, baron, knight, or esquire, shall pass within a quarter of a league of the spot assigned for these combats without entering the lists and taking part, or otherwise leaving as pledges his sword or spurs, according to his pleasure.

[ocr errors]

Item, for the accomplishment of these feats of arms, as well on horseback as on foot,

This article I do not understand. In the original it is tondelle,altered by Du Cange to rondelle, which is translated by Cotgrave, "a small target;" but four fingers wide would be too insignificant for any defence. I have, therefore, left it for better antiquaries to explain.

[By the rondelle, which is strictly speaking a small target, the butt of the tilting spear, which formed a defence to the

hand, and was sometimes enlarged to extravagant dimensions, appears to be here indicated.-ED.]

That is to say, that barriers dividing the combatants should be erected in the lists. It is worthy of remark, that that this is the first instance in the annals of Froissart or Monstrelet where mention is made of this invention for preventing in some degree the dangers attendant on these warlike games.-Ed.

according to the articles above specified, I have most humbly supplicated and entreated my aforesaid sovereign lord, that he would grant me his licence and permission to perform them, which he has most benignantly assented to. He has likewise most graciously appointed, as judge of the lists, that puissant prince and my most redoubted lord the count of Nevers and of Rethel,—and, in his absence, the lord marshal count of Fribourg and of Neufchâtel.

“In order that this my intention of performing these deeds of arms in the manner before specified may be more fully declared, I have affixed my seal to these presents, and signed them with my own hand, this 8th day of March, in the year 1442.

"Item, I beseech all princes, barons, knights, and esquires, not to construe this my intention as proceeding from any presumption on my part; for my sole motive is to exalt the noble profession of arms, and to extend the exercise of it,—and also to make acquaintance by arms with such renowned and valiant princes and nobles as may be pleased to honour me with their company.-Item, all noble foreigners shall have sure and loyal passports from my aforesaid sovereign lord, or, in his absence, from his marshal.”

CHAPTER CCLXXII.—THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY SENDS THE COUNT D'ESTAMPES, WITH A LARGE BODY OF MEN-AT-ARMS, INTO THE DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG.

Ar this period, the duchess of Luxembourg, widow to duke Anthony of Brabant and to John of Bavaria (both of them uncles to the duke of Burgundy, one by the father's, the other by the mother's side), made heavy complaints to the duke of Burgundy that the greater part of her subjects and vassals in the duchy of Luxembourg* had refused to obey her, or pay her the rents that were her due. The inhabitants of Luxembourg and Thionville were particularly rebellious, with those of other places in their neighbourhood, by driving out of their towns her officers. She most humbly requested of him, from his love to God, and in honour to his two uncles, whom she had married, and to whom she had always behaved most honourably, that he would take compassion on her case, and afford her such succour

The cause and progress of this war respecting the duchy of Luxembourg may deserve some explanation. After the death of Wenceslaus duke of Brabant and Luxembourg (the patron of Froissart) the duchy reverted to the emperor Wenceslaus, as head of the elder branch of the family; and on the marriage of Elizabeth of Gorlitia, his niece, with Anthony duke of Brabant, the emperor made a mortgage of the duchy to the said Anthony to secure the payment of his wife's portion, amounting to 120,000 florins. This sum was never paid; and possession of the duchy was retained by Elizabeth after the death of Anthony, and until some time after the death of her second husband, John of Bavaria, bishop of Liege, so often before mentioned. At this period, however, both Wenceslaus and Sigismund, and also the empress Elizabeth daughter of Sigismund, being no more, and the rights of the elder branch having descended on William III. marquis of Thuringia and Casimir IV. king of Poland, in right of their wives Elizabeth and Anne, the daughters of the empress Elizabeth, those princes took advantage of

Wenceslaus
(Emperor)
died 1419.

Elizabeth married
Casimir IV. king
of Poland.

the apparently unprotected state of the province to claim
the privilege of redemption; to enforce which, they sent a
powerful army under the command of the count of Click
of the house of Saxony. To oppose the invaders, Robert,
count of Wirnemburg, collected what troops he was able
from the duchy itself; and duke Philip sent considerable
supplies under the command of his bastard son Cornelius,
of the count of Estampes, and other nobles, by whose
assistance the Saxons were at length expelled. In
gratitude for this signal service, Elizabeth soon after-
wards conveyed the duchy and all its dependencies in
absolute possession to duke Philip and his heirs for ever;
and the vanquished claimants were forced to purchase
peace by a solemn ratification of her cession.
The king
of Poland, however, did not deliver his confirmation till
after the death of Philip, when the transaction was com-
pleted in favour of Charles the Warlike. See Bertelius
and Heuterus.

The short table annexed will render this affair more intelligible.

[blocks in formation]

as should replace her with honour in her duchy, otherwise she should be reduced to live in great poverty and misery.

The duke made her a very kind answer, saying that he would heartily assist her against her rebellious subjects with every means in his power,-for which she gratefully thanked him. In consequence, he lost no time to assemble his council, for them to deliberate on the matter and determine on the most efficacious method of performing his engagement.—It was resolved at this council, that the duke of Burgundy should send a solemn message to the inhabitants of Luxembourg, to require of them to perform their duties to the duchess and to her officers, as they were bounden to do,-and that, should they refuse, he, the duke, would support her with all his power to restore to her her rights. The inhabitants refused to attend to this summons, although several requests were made to them for the purpose, and instantly introduced into their towns a body of troops from duke William of Saxony*, who laid claim to the duchy as next heir. He sent thither eight hundred combatants from the borders of Germany, under the command of a relative called the count de Clicque, who garrisoned the town of Luxembourg, Thionville, and others of their party.

The duke of Burgundy, perceiving they persevered in their rebellion, determined to make war upon them, and wrote letters to the count de Vernembourg, the heir of Sarrebrusse, Henry de la Tour, and to other nobles of the duchy of Luxembourg, the greater part of whom supported the duchess, to request that they would join him in his war against her rebellious subjects. He added that he would shortly send thither an army, and command it in person, to conquer that duchy, and drive out those who at present occupied it. They returned for answer, that they were very ready to join him; and after they had sent to the different towns in rebellion their challenges, made open war upon them. In the mean time, the duke of Burgundy ordered the count d'Estampes into Picardy, to assemble a large force, and march with it to meet him in Burgundy. When his army was ready, he commanded it to advance towards St. Quentin, whither he himself went, accompanied by Waleran de Moreul, Guy de Roye, the Lord de Humieres, the lord de Saveuses, sir Simon de Lalain, the lord de Neufville, Gauvain Quieret, sir Anthony de Wissoch, Jean de Haplaincourt, and many poble knights and esquires, to the number of twelve or thirteen hundred combatants.

From St. Quentin, the army marched toward Laon, to pass through the county of Rethel but when near to Montagutt, intelligence was brought that Dimenche le Court, le Roucin, and others of the king of France's captains, were posted in Montagut and Sissonnet, whence they had lately laid waste the whole country of the Rethelois. The count d'Estampes was very indignant on hearing this; for a short time before, Dimenche le Court had been defeated in Burgundy, and had then promised never more to invade the territories of the duke of Burgundy, nor of his allies. The count sent to order them to decamp, for that he intended to lodge in Montagut; but as they refused to obey, a dispute ensued between the two parties, and the count instantly attacked them, when the French were defeated, with the loss of their horses and baggage, taken by the Picards. Few were killed, but many wounded, and such as had been made prisoners were afterwards set at liberty. Some had even their baggage restored,-in particular, that of de Court,-and they made a retreat as speedily as they could.

Neither the king nor dauphin were pleased that their men should have been attacked and defeated on the territories of France, more especially as these troops, in obedience to a summons from the dauphin, were on their march to the relief of Dieppe, of which ample mention shall be made the mischief, however, was done,-which caused, hereafter, great

remorse.

:

The count d'Estampes marched his army toward Burgundy, and encamped in the plains near to Langres and Montfaucon : during which, the count and principal nobles waited on the duke of Burgundy at Dijon, where they were joyfully received and feasted. They remained there some time, while the duke was finishing his preparations to march with his army into Luxembourg.

*William marquis of Thuringia, youngest son of Frederick the Warlike, elector of Saxony.

Montagut, a village in Picardy, near Laon-
Sissonne, a town in Picardy, near Laon.

« 前へ次へ »